Life on the Front Line

"Are you planning a 50 Shades on the local authority staffing crisis?" Sam Stafford usually likes it when people get in touch with him to suggest topics for 50 Shades episodes, but found this message from a team leader at a local authority striking and sobering. Is there a local authority staffing crisis? If so why and what can be done about it? Informed by equally striking and sobering responses to Episode 57's 'Call for Evidence' (see below a link to the 'Life on the Front Line' Blog), Sam puts these questions to Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst, who try to do as much justice to this most weighty of topics as is possible within an hour or so. Catriona (@CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catriona-riddell-b418a322 Peter (@planitpres) is Executive Director at Hertsmere Borough Council and Chair of the Development Management Network at the Planning Officers Society, but contributes to this episode in a personal capacity. https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-geraghty-mciob-fcabe-frtpi-frsa-facss-5832899b Paul Brocklehurst is Chair of the Land Promoters & Developers Federation (@THELPDF) and a former Chief Executive of Catesby Estates. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brocklehurst-68827b6a Some accompanying reading. The Planning town hall resources survey  https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1720094/planning-town-hall-resources-survey?bulletin=planning-people&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20210915&utm_content=Planning%20People%20(48)::&email_hash Three reasons for low morale at planning authorities, by Catriona Riddell https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1734244/three-reasons-low-morale-planning-authorities-catriona-riddell Life on the Front Line, Sam's Blog http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/12/life-on-front-line.html The Raynsford Review https://www.tcpa.org.uk/raynsford-review English Planning: The Fruits of 10 Years of Austerity and Reform, by Peter https://planning.org/blog/9189021/english-planning-fruits-of-10-years-of-austerity-and-reform/ Where the government’s review of local authority planning resources has got to, by Joey Gardiner https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1735446/governments-review-local-authority-planning-resources?bulletin=planning-weekly-edition&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20211210&utm_content=Planning%20Email%20Edition%20(7)::&email_hash= We need to talk about Local Government: the levelling-up agenda, and the planning system, depends on it, by Nicola Gooch https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102heht/we-need-to-talk-about-local-government-the-levelling-up-agenda-and-the-planning Some accompanying listening. Keep on keeping on by Curtis Mayfield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html