Planning Law (With Chickens)

Victoria and Nikita are back with an update on planning news stories, an overview of the Wildfish case and reflections from the Town team on the recent UKREiiF conference in Leeds.Visit our Website:townlegal.com 

In this first episode of 2026, we have Town Legal’s new Manchester partners on the pod. Get to know Lisa Tye, Kathryn Jump and David Mathias in this special episode; their career highlights, their favourite planning cases and, of course, whether they support City or United.Visit our Website:townlegal.com 

Victoria and Nikita run through their planning themed “12 Days of Christmas” for 2025 with some key highlights from the year – plenty of cases, lots of consultations and, of course, the recently published draft NPPF. Visit our Website:townlegal.com

Victoria and Nikita are back with more planning news stories, including the Supreme Court’s very recent decision in the CG Fry case, the Revised Flood Risk PPG, the latest on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill’s progress through Parliament, and decisions on a couple of recovered planning appeals. We also welcome Virginia Blackman, head of the Site Assembly and Compulsory Purchase team at Avison Young, to talk to us about the publication of the New Towns Taskforce’s recommendations and the government’s response. 

Victoria and Nikita bring you an overview of a number of key updates from the last quarter, including various new proposed reforms and consultations. In a case law heavy episode, we also cover cases on the “no substantial difference” test, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Spitalfields case and cases on duties of relevant authorities relating to National Parks and National Landscapes. We celebrate the milestone of hitting 10,000 downloads and welcome Town Legal colleagues Aline Hyde (instructed on the recent West Suffolk / Animal Health Trust Research centre case on the interpretation of Class E) and Spencer Tewis-Allen (instructed on the recent John Lewis West Ealing appeal) to the podcast. 

With the return of our quarterly episodes, Victoria and Nikita share their thoughts on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the Mead case which considered the role and relationship of the NPPF and PPG. We are also pleased to welcome Nick Grant, barrister at Landmark Chambers, back to the podcast to share his experience of how grey belt policy is being applied. 

Victoria is back and, together with Nikita, they run through a planning themed “12 Days of Christmas” looking back at some highlights from 2024 including the recent publication of a revised NPPF.Visit our Website: townlegal.com

Still undecided or interested to understand what to expect from the newly elected government? Join us as we interview three special guests on the parties’ manifestos – Steve Quartermain (former Chief Planner) on planning and housing policies, Duncan Field (Town Legal) on energy and environment policies, and John Walker (CT Group) on politics and planning. [NB: We recorded this episode in various different locations which, at times, has impacted sound quality.]

Join us as we look back at Patrick Robinson’s long and successful career ahead of his retirement. Patrick was one of Town Legal’s founding partners and the firms’ first Managing Partner. Starting his career before the advent of mobile phones and emails, Patrick has had a very impressive career, and we discuss some of his key highlights (and a few lowlights). Town Legal LLP

Victoria and Nikita run through a planning themed "12 Days of Christmas" looking back at some highlights from 2023. 

There’s lots for us to cover after an extended summer break – the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act receives royal assent, the government announces its long-term plan for housing, the introduction of mandatory BNG regulations get delayed and the SoS refuses the called-in M&S application. Victoria and Nikita also welcome their first fellow Townie as a special guest to shed some light on the nutrient neutrality issue! 

Nick Grant, barrister at Landmark Chambers, features in our next Case Law Brief episode on the podcast.

The Court of Appeal (Lindblom LJ, Lewis LJ and Laing LJ) has upheld Holgate J’s decision to quash an Inspector’s grant of permission for 289 apartments on the Newcastle Quayside. Anjoli dives into the details for us in a brilliant listen.

Victoria and Nikita cover the recent Secretary of State’s decision in the called-in Berkeley Homes application in Cranbrook and a lot of recent/ongoing consultations, including on Environmental Outcomes Reports, Affordable Housing, Development Viability, a new Use Class/PD rights for short term lets and the Infrastructure Levy (with special guest Sasha Gordon, Director at Quod). 

Landmark Chambers barrister, Leon Glenister, is our next guest on the podcast. He is here to talk about R (Ashchurch Rural Parish Council) v Tewkesbury Borough Council [2023]. Or rather, "the bridge to nowhere" case.

Two barristers for the price of one! We invite Zack Simons and Isabella Buono onto the pod to discuss R (University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trusts) v Harborough District Council [2023]. We hope you enjoy.

Victoria and Nikita cover a lot of ground in this latest quarterly episode; covering the good, the bad and the misunderstood planning news stories and “salami slicing” in the Ashchurch v Tewkesbury Borough Council case. Featuring special guest James Wickham, Partner at Gerald Eve, who looks into the crystal ball and provides an excellent overview of upcoming national planning policy reform.  

The next instalment in our Case Law Briefs is with the brilliant Ruchi Parekh of Cornerstone Barristers. She discusses Armstrong v Secretary of State in another great listen.

Victoria and Nikita run through a planning themed "12 Days of Christmas" looking back at some highlights from the last 12 months.

This is the first of many bitesize "Case Law Brief" episodes in which we sit down with leading barristers working on the latest planning law cases of interest. In this episode we hear from Charlie Banner KC, of Keating Chambers, on the Supreme Court’s recent Hillside Parks decision. 

In our second quarterly episode, Victoria McKeegan and Nikita Sellers catch up on the chickens and planning news, consider whether everything we said in our last episode is totally redundant, take a look at the Growth Plan and a recent case on extensions, and chat to the CEO/co-founder of Cratus communications Nick Kilby. 

In this first quarterly episode, we meet the flock, consider our favourite, least favourite and most misunderstood sections of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill, take a look at the recent GOESA case and chat to planning barrister Stephanie Hall.