Podcast
The Planning Podcast
Hosted by No5 Chambers · EN
Hosted by No5 Chambers and guests provide expert commentary on planning & environmental law; planning appeals; judicial review; local authorities; and the housing and development issues facing England and Wales.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Planning Podcast Ep 060 - The vision-led approach, the new severe impact test
Mar 900:18:52Tap to summarizeThe new draft NPPF seeks to progress a vision-led approach to transport planning, but the guidance to support it has only been consulted upon with local authorities. As for the draft NPPF itself, there is a new approach to the "severe" test, and the Government wants more development around railway stations, but is suggesting it be limited to 800m.In this fourth episode of the 'NPPF Flashpoint' series, Christopher Young KC and James Corbet Burcher are joined by Phil Jones (Chairman of PJA, a key author of Manual for Streets (2007) and the lead author for Manual for Streets 2 (2010)) to discuss these issues.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 059 - Logistics
Mar 500:19:48Tap to summarizeFreight and logistics are a huge part of the UK Economy. The new draft NPPF provides for the first time a specific national policy for freight and logistics (Policy E3), and "substantial" weight is now to be given to economic development when there is unmet need, but there are still no targets for increasing capacity in the freight and logistics sector. In the third of the series on 'NPPF Flashpoints', Christopher Young KC and Christian Hawley are joined by Angie Fenton, Senior Director at Quod, and a Member of the British Property Federation's Industrial Committee and the London Industrial and Logistics Sounding Board, to discuss the impact of the draft Framework.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 057 - Veteran trees
Mar 500:22:24Tap to summarizeThe draft NPPF proposes to change the definition of Veteran Trees. Around 3 to 4 times as many trees may be covered by the new definition. A veteran tree with a diameter of 2 metres enjoys a protection zone around the trunk in a circle that measures 60 metres in diameter.Plainly, this could present profound implications for some development proposals. Christopher Young KC and Jessica Allen are joined by leading Chartered Arboriculturalist Julian Forbes-Laird to discuss the issue and what developers and local authorities ought to be doing to investigate the implications for both allocated and unallocated development sites.If there are potential implications, then LPAs and developers need to set out those implications in their responses to the consultation on the draft NPPF, which are due on 10th March.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 058 - The NPPF 2026 Consultation and Older People’s Housing
Mar 500:28:26Tap to summarizeThe Government has long recognised that there is a “critical” need for more specialist accommodation for elderly people. The UK has a rapidly aging population; 17% of the population in the USA and 13% of the population in Australia live in this type of accommodation, whereas in the UK, it is just 1%.In the second of a series on 'NPPF Flashpoints', in relation to the draft NPPF presently out for consultation, Christopher Young KC and Leanne Buckley-Thomson of No5 Barristers' Chambers discuss the issues around this sector with Ellen Pearce, Planning Director at Inspired Villages, an Integrated Retirement Living operator.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 056 - Unpacking CG Fry in the Supreme Court
Oct 3100:29:37Tap to summarizeFollowing the much-anticipated hand-down by the Supreme Court of judgment in CG Fry v SSHCLG [2025] UKSC 35, Daniel Henderson is joined by James Corbet Burcher and Chatura Saravanan to unpack the Court’s analysis of the two main issues, and the legal, policy, and practical implications going forward.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 055 - Recent Housing Appeal Decisions
Apr 4, 202500:19:31Tap to summarizeDaniel Henderson is joined by pupil barrister in the No5 Planning and Environmental Group, Chatura Saravanan, to discuss a number of recent appeal decisions concerning residential schemes, and to identify key takeaways. Also, we have includes the links to some of the appeals discussed.Character and appearance and PDL Land at 1-5 Hillside, Portsmouth Road - APP/K3605/W/24/3350737Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350737VSC without Grey Belt 124 and 142 Church Lane Selston - APP/W3005/W/24/3347049Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3347049Costs Land at junction of Newark Road, Nottinghamshire – APP/W3005/W/24/3350529Link to appeal decisions: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350529Land North of Mucklestone, Staffordshire – APP/P3420/W/24/3350245Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350245
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 054 - What is national policy? The Court of Appeal in Mead, and recent updates
Mar 21, 202500:31:53Tap to summarizeIn light of recent legislative changes and policy announcements, we are at something of a hinge-point as to a vital question in planning practice – what is national policy, how is it organised, and what is its effect? In this episode, Daniel Henderson and James Corbet Burcher discuss the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Mead Realisations v SSHCLG [2025] EWCA Civ 32, put it into some context, and seek to explore what its effect might be in future months, following LURA and recent policy changes.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 053 ‘How to do a hearing’: Local Planning Authorities
Mar 17, 202500:23:43Tap to summarizeIn the second of a two-part series, Daniel Henderson, James Corbet Burcher, and Sioned Davies discuss the basics of ‘how to do a hearing’, this time from the perspective of a Local Planning Authority.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 052 ‘How to do a hearing’: Appellants
Mar 14, 202500:28:35Tap to summarizeGiven the policy framework in which we now find ourselves in 2025, it is inevitable that practitioners are going to see a significant uptick in appeal work in the coming months. Many of those appeals are going to be listed by PINS as hearings. For newcomers as well as those who are familiar with the format, hearings can be mysterious and procedurally difficult. To that end, in this episode, Daniel Henderson, James Corbet Burcher, and Sioned Davies present a basic discussion on ‘how to do hearings’, as part of a two-part series. In this episode, they look at the question from the perspective of the Appellants.
Transcribe →The Planning Podcast Ep 051 - New NPPF: The Key Changes
Dec 17, 202400:39:41Tap to summarizeAfter months of anticipation, the new NPPF is finally here, heralding what the Deputy Prime Minister has called a “landmark overhaul” to “shake-up a broken planning system”. In this episode, Daniel Henderson is joined by Peter Goatley KC, Christian Hawley, and Sioned Davies to pick over some of the most important reforms, and assess their potential impact for developers and local authorities alike.
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