Make Planning Make Sense

This is a legacy-defining moment. The Mayor can still be the very first to deliver a London Plan that enables its own minimum housing requirement. All tea, no shade. In this episode, in Season 02 Episode 18, and in our written representations, we've already done the heavy lifting. It is literally our day job to know the practical application of the Plan inside and out. It's been our personal missi...

Our guest for this episode is Sangeeta Shenoy, Director at Veretec. Sangeeta is an architect who specialises in delivery, which means she brings a fresh perspective on the key challenges facing both the planning system and the built environment sector as a whole. We discuss: Planning’s powerful influence on viability Trust in the sector And what we can do to Make Planning Make Sense If you like to...

Our guest for this episode is the one and only Catriona Riddell. Catriona explains the forthcoming Spatial Development Strategies, including how they will benefit applicants. We do a bit of punditry about what the Burnham government will be like for the sector. And we have a lovely bonding experience over our mutual exasperation with the draft London Plan. If you like today’s episode, share it wit...

I'm not mad, I'm disappointed. The draft London Plan is DOA. We can revive it if the Plan becomes outcome-orientated, takes leadership where needed, and becomes aware of time and sector capacity as key constraints. If you like today’s episode, share it with your fellow Planimals and please do follow the show! And remember, we’re ultimately here for you. Whenever you have a complex project that nee...

Over the summer holidays, we're sharing select episodes from our archive that are worth another listen during the draft London Plan consultation period. We'll be back on 17 September with our full analysis. Special thanks to Will Powell for this great conversation. Our summer favs: S01 E05 Less than substantial charm (Part 1) (feat. Laurie Handcock) S01 E06 Less than substantial charm (Part 2) (fe...

Over the summer holidays, we're sharing select episodes from our archive that are worth another listen during the draft London Plan consultation period. We'll be back on 17 September with our full analysis. Special thanks to Marko Salopek for this great conversation. Our summer favs: S01 E05 Less than substantial charm (Part 1) (feat. Laurie Handcock) S01 E06 Less than substantial charm (Part 2) (...

Over the summer holidays, we're sharing select episodes from our archive that are worth another listen during the draft London Plan consultation period. We'll be back on 17 September with our full analysis. Special thanks to Paul Willis for this great conversation. Our summer favs: S01 E05 Less than substantial charm (Part 1) (feat. Laurie Handcock) S01 E06 Less than substantial charm (Part 2) (fe...

Over the summer holidays, we're sharing select episodes from our archive that are worth another listen during the draft London Plan consultation period. We'll be back on 17 September with our full analysis. Special thanks to Paul Higgs for this great conversation. Our summer favs: S01 E05 Less than substantial charm (Part 1) (feat. Laurie Handcock) S01 E06 Less than substantial charm (Part 2) (fea...

Over the summer holidays, we're sharing select episodes from our archive that are worth another listen during the draft London Plan consultation period. We'll be back on 17 September with our full analysis. Special thanks to Neil Cawood for this great conversation. Full summer reading list: S01 E05 Less than substantial charm (Part 1) (feat. Laurie Handcock) S01 E06 Less than substantial charm (Pa...

Our guest for this episode is Darren Rodwell, a man who needs no introduction, who you’ll recognise as the former leader of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council. Darren has a new book called ‘Building Communities One Brick and One Heart at a Time’, which is out now. I was most interested to talk with Darren about creating momentum in a planning system that is structurally indifferent...

We've been longlisted in the Business category for the 2026 British Podcast Awards! We set off a year ago without one ounce of media experience to create a bit of content about why our work matters, the fact that we’re damn good at it, and how the sector can do better for the people of the UK. Being longlisted for a British Podcast Award is both humbling and affirming for a show we’re really proud...

Make Planning Make Sense is turning 1! Thank you, guests, listeners and team!!! 365 days, 44 expert voices, 40 episodes, 1 nod from the British Podcast Awards, and 1 community of passionate professionals - We are absolutely stunned by the warm welcome you've given to this project. As a way of saying THANK YOU to our amazing guests, listeners and team, Aaron and Mariam are taking you behind the sce...

Our guest today is Will Powell, Investment Director at Downing. With incredible clarity, Will sets out the private sector’s needs with the aim of restarting housing delivery. We cover: How to catalyse home sales De-cluttering decision taking Having the right people in your team Reviving a culture of partnership And more. Be sure to check out the podcast that Will hosts: Downing Funding Foundations...

Our guests for this episode are Charlotte Morphet, Programme Leader for Urban Planning at the University of the Built Environment and Marina Milosev, co-founder of Beyond the Red Line and, recently, Urban Planning Expert at the United Nations. We're also joined by Andrew Lightstone, Associate Director at Centro. If you’re listening to this podcast, you’re probably the sort who has been following t...

Our guest this week is Helen Walker, Head of Heritage and Associate at Bowman Riley. Helen lets us in on a pleasant little heritage hack that can spare folks a bit of time, expense, and grief. Along the way, we touch on the perils of the "only Grade II" mindset and the risk of losing the living knowledge of the building crafts. Be sure to follow for new episodes fortnightly. Make Planning Make Sen...

Live from the London Centre: Tarun Cheema MRTPI and Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI present the latest on planning reform...and how the devil is always in the details. We give a TLDR run-through of: The draft NPPF The Mayor’s kickstart measures and new call-in powers The PIA including the National Scheme of Delegation How these reforms will play out for developers and decision making Special thanks to New L...

Our guest this week is Nathan Spencer, Managing Director of UKREiiF. REiiF Week is upon us, and in tingling anticipation of UKREiiF , which runs 19th to the 21st of May, Nathan talks about who’s lined up to anchor the event this year and what the event means for Leeds. We also get into B2B business development in the built environment sector, the challenges the sector faces in communicating its pr...

Our guest this week is Joanna Christophides, Director at Cratus Group. We’re just one week out from the local elections, and there’s been a lot of chatter about more seats going to candidates outside the traditional blue, red and yellow parties. Our conversation covers what appears likely to change for the built environment sector and what will still hold true after votes are counted. We also disc...

Our guests this week are Founding Director Adam Green and Director of Partnerships Emily Wilson of Ninety Four Group. Adam and Emily share insights about a sector that’s just as much P2P as it is B2B. How do we grow our businesses? How do relatively young companies navigate the public sector procurement process? What makes a company one of the firms that comes to mind when it’s time to tender? We...

Our guest this week is Marko Salopek, Senior Project Manager at Muse. Marko comes at the discussion from his particular perspective as part of a prestigious public-private partnership placemaking powerhouse, Muse. This conversation was a lot of fun, but it also makes a compelling a compelling argument for imperfection and grace. It’s been remarkable that so many conversations within the built envi...

Our guest this week is Uliana Kuzmis, Chief Credit Officer at Pallas Capital UK. Our conversation is a window into the world of development finance. Uliana sets out how development is actually financed – or not – including the functional constraints on finance that aren’t easily visible to other parts of the built environment sector. It’s a must-listen for anyone in the sector who knows the value...

Our guest this week is Melissa Murphy KC of Landmark Chambers. Melissa talks us through the draft NPPF from fresh angles, puts the power of planning committees in perspective, and considers the limitations of the metaphor of the planning balance. Just to note, International Women’s Day is coming up on 8th March. The day commemorates women's continuing fight for equality and liberation and the prou...

Our guest this week is James Mickelburgh, co-founder of Jensen Hunt. As town planning agents, part of our role is to make sense of a subjective and often open-ended policy context that’s always changing. The conversation with James shows how policies regarding environmentally sustainability are amongst the most open-ended, the effects that can have on decision making, and where we find optimism ab...

Our guest this week is Viktor Rohacs, Founder and Director of Rohacs Architects. As town planning agents, we know it’s as important to secure a successful permission as it is to secure a deliverable permission. Our conversation with Viktor shows that commercial-mindedness is part and parcel rather than an opposing force to delivering successful places. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week....

Our guest this week is the one-and-only Phineas Harper. The team at Centro is in the built environment sector because we’re dedicated to the outcomes we achieve. We’re invested in the nature of our work. That’s why it was such a good time speaking with Phineas, who has a unique position in the sector as an activist, an organiser, and – dare we say – a provocateur. Be sure to follow for new episode...