It’s not every day you discover you have something in common with a Secretary of State. I’ve run through the odd wheat field in my time, but it was on this Monday that I discovered that my first day at Iceni coincided with that of the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government: James Brokenshire.

Earlier this month Transport for the North (TfN) adopted its formal statutory powers and in doing so became England’s first sub-national transport body; a move the government said would give the North a “greater influence over transport investment than ever before”.

Date: 19.04.2018

‘Housing crisis’ - two words that I mull over almost every day, and it seems I’m not the only one. Results from a recent London First survey show these words are also at the forefront of London voters’ thoughts, particularly in the context of upcoming May elections.

When is it appropriate to build tall? The location of tall buildings, or by common definition, buildings comparatively taller than their surroundings, should ideally be driven by: a location’s physical capability to absorb height; and, the location’s relevance or importance as a location within an urban environment. Tall buildings should tell you something about a city; they are the punctuation marks upon a City’s skyline, the clefs and codas of its symphony. But to achieve this ideal, a City needs a composer or an author, a single, unifying body or policy document to shape its skyline in a strategic way.

Last week, over a coffee and croissant, Iceni Projects, Town Legal LLP and invited guests, sought to digest the NPPF Review. Seemingly a tall order for breakfast, but in reality does the NPPF round two actually suggest any radical divergence from the existing Framework?

Article appeared in The Planner, EG, Place North West.

Gone are the days of owning ‘things’. Millennials own Kindles not books, they watch Netflix not DVDs, and they listen to Spotify not CDs. Our requirement for space has decreased, as new generations spend their disposable income on experiences instead of material goods.

National planning policy puts Local Plans at the heart of the planning system, so it is essential that they are in place and kept up to date (as directed by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, as amended).

We would like to invite you to the launch of the Sustainable Development Scorecard, taking place on Tuesday 24 April 2018 in Birmingham. The Sustainable Development Scorecard has been shortlisted for the use of technology in planning at this years Planning Awards in May 2018.