In the first of a trio of ‘how did we get here?’ podcasts, Daniel Henderson, planning and environmental barrister at No 5 Chambers, maps out the key stages in policy change, case law and legislative action which changed the way that we plan development, starting with the advent of localism.

"But it's in the wrong place" is a six-word summary from the Inspector’s lengthy consideration of the evidence in an inquiry into a 350 unit, mixed use scheme in South Oxfordshire. James Corbet Burcher joins Richard Kimblin KC to explain the context and the learning from this Secretary of State decision, upholding confidence in neighbourhood planning despite weighty scheme benefits.

Whether you are an infrastructure developer, an infrastructure provider, a promoter or decision-maker for EIA built development, how do you decide what needs to be assessed, and how? Three recent cases illustrate the problems and provide strong guidance on what needs to be done to arrive at a lawful conclusion.  Odette Chalaby explains.

The Planning Podcast takes a summer diversion from planning and environmental law to the professions we work with and practical routes into them. Danielle Dawson (Product Development Manager at Aggregate Industries) and Lisa Newland (Central Bedfordshire’s Academy and Enabling Team Planning Manager) give a view from the inside of apprenticeships. Both are positive, inspiring guests who show us an exciting route out of recruitment drought.

The Labour Party has mooted the idea of compulsory purchase of land for housing by local authorities and amendment of the rules on compensation. It is a complex area. It raises at least these questions: what is the problem which is being targeted; what drives land value and where are they different; how would the proposal affect new settlements, if at all; are there existing mechanisms to achieve the same end; how would land-owner behaviour change; are the CPO and valuation stages the same and what position might an objector take;are there perverse consequences for local plan preparation? That is a long list, and so this is a detailed episode of the Planning Podcast, with three experts: Richard Blythe (Head of Policy and Practice at the RTPI); Paul Brocklehurst (Chairman of the Land Promoters and Developers Federation), and; Christian Hawley, barrister at No5 Chambers, joining Richard Kimblin KC to tease out the issues.

Potential effects on a European Site/Habitats Regulations/Appropriate Assessment. Does reserved matters approval/discharge of conditions require AA, potentially halting a development? The latest chapter on nutrient neutrality/eutrophication: the case of CG Fry. This is an impromptu Planning Podcast with Christian Hawley and Richard Kimblin KC giving the context and result of this High Court judgment.

In this episode we take a thematic tour through recent cases on decision-taking in planning. It a tour de force from Hugh Richards and Howard Leithead, compressing case after case into 25 minutes of learning - with notes!

NDMPs – national policy and its impact on planning decisions In this Planning Podcast, James Corbet Burcher helps us with the content, rationale and benefits of national development management policies. In turn, they have an impact on planner’s favourite statutory provision. And this Planning Podcast comes with notes!

In this Planning Podcast, James Corbet Burcher helps us look ahead to plan making as envisaged in the Levelling Up etc Bill. What timescales do we need to have in mind when making strategic decisions?  Which changes in content of local plans will have an impact?  How is the electoral cycle affecting the measures?  And this Planning Podcast comes with notes!

The Planning Podcast returns this new year for a very particular purpose and that is pupillage – the on the job training which is required for practice. It is a very hard position to secure and a testing and formative process for those who do obtain a pupillage. That application process opened last week, so lets talk about it.Planning and environmental law is not on the radar of every law student. So, the planning podcast has tried to help a little, with Anna Stein, a successful pupillage applicant  and to Christian Hawley, planning and environmental barrister at No5 Chambers, and much valued contributor to this podcast.

In this episode of the Planning Podcast,  we go on journey; a sustainable journey around the Duchy of Cornwall’s development at Nansledan, Newquay, in Cornwall. But our journey is an ambitious one – a journey around an urban extension which really is a new place – which is walkable – which creates an economy and establishes a community. We have two guides. Lord Matthew Taylor is a key thinker behind the garden settlement movement and the pruning and rationalisation which resulted in the 2012 Framework. The Duchy’s Estates Director is Ben Murphy. He knows the vision, implementation and current function of this new community and new place like nobody else. We are privileged to have them both with us.

More climate change assessment – [2] Dissent in the High CourtIn this episode of the Planning Podcast, Richard Kimblin QC is joined by Will Rundle, Head of Legal at Friends of the Earth, to outline how, in the opinion of one judge in the High Court, an unreasonable assessment of climate effects can make a decision unlawful. Unusually, two judges sat to hear the case, brought by FoE. One of them found that assessment was irrational. We have a look at why that was so.

Environmental statements and climate change impact – [1] Dissent in the Court of AppealIn this episode of the Planning Podcast, Richard Kimblin QC is joined by Harj Narulla to help listeners get to grips with a tricky set of issues: what is an EIA project?; in what way do climate change effects have to be taken into account in an ES?; and what can lawfully be left out of account? The case of Finch helps with these questions and we are guided through that judgment, which was decided 2:1 – so, a case giving rise to dissent.

In this edition the Planning Podcast looks at the relationship between environmental regulators, the courts and the planning system. With his guests, Odette Chalaby and Carl Copestake (Knights LLP), Richard Kimblin QC turns to the recent Court of Appeal decision in R (oao) Mathew Richards v Environment Agency [2022] EWCA Civ 26.

Planning takeaways from the White Paper.In this episode, Sioned Davies picks out the key messages which have an impact on town centres, employment land policy, Green Belt and devolution, so that you do not have to read all four documents and the 332 page White Paper.

In this practical take on motorway service areas and Green Belt very special circumstances, Christian Hawley and Thea Osmund-Smith join Richard Kimblin QC in identifying the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ in this competitive area of work.

A challenge to a North Sea consent might not immediately strike you as a ’need to know’. But if you do need to know any of the following, listen in: (1) what happens if EIA development is adverstised in breach of the regulations; (2) how do you assess the carbon impacts of a development? (3) is climate litigation on an uptick? (4) why do claimants bring climate cases? (5) what are the targets for those cases. With Howard Leithead and Harj Narulla, Richard Kimblin QC takes in different perspectives on climate litigation, with no blah.Article: https://www.no5.com/media/news/greenpeace-fails-in-attempt-to-challenge-bp-s-vorlich-field/Webinar: https://youtu.be/RZq1bojW6iI

Back for the autumn, the Planning Podcast turns to a five-case legal update. What did you miss while enjoying the summer? Leanne Buckley-Thomson and Oliver Lawrence provide great insights into what can go badly wrong at planning committees and whether an interested party in a JR can recover some of its costs, amongst many other snippets.

In this episode, The Planning Podcast looks to Wales for a lead. We find positive, modern and innovative approaches to the environment, building a cohesive society and planning for development at a strategic scale. The lead is extending and changing as so ably discussed by Dr Victoria Jenkins, associate professor of law at Swansea University, David Harries, Partner at Aaron and Partners and Sioned Davies, planning and environmental barrister at No 5 Chambers. Together, they bring Richard Kimblin QC up to speed with the policy and legal vision in Wales and how and why it differs from that in England. With both planning and environmental reform in England now on foot, it’s a great time to look to Wales and learn.

The Planning Podcast looks at the long, indeed the seemingly never-ending, examination and considers the scope for and potential impact of reform. With guests Jerry Youle, Inspector and Professional Lead for local plans at the Planning Inspectorate, Satnam Choongh, Planning and Environmental barrister at No5 Chambers, Tim Burden and David Murray-Cox, each planning Directors at Turley, Richard Kimblin QC explores the practical problems which can cause local plan examinations to take years, and what might be done to help.