Make Planning Make Sense

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...

Our guest this week is Reuben Taylor KC of Landmarks Chambers. Reuben is a brilliant planning barrister, and, as you’ll hear, our conversation covers a wide range of topics. From the kickstart measures for housing delivery in London to the Building Safety Regulator, the draft NPPF and Mötley Crüe, this one has it all. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is hosted...

The Season 2 premiere! Our guest this week is Councillor Anthony Okereke, leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The insightful conversation covers new towns, the emergency relief measures for Greater London, local government funding, and good governance. We also talk politics a bit, but, as you’ll hear, not as much as Councillor Okereke had hoped. (Sorry, Anthony.) Be sure to follow for new ep...

Welcome to the Season 1 Finale! Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI sits down with Centro's Managing Director, Luke Raistrick MRTPI to distil the insights shared by our terrific guests over the course of Season 1. If you've been waiting for a single episode to tell you what's what, this is it! Share with abandon. Thank you to all our guests who joined us for Season 1! We'll be back without missing a beat with t...

This is the penultimate episode of Season 1 of Make Planning Make Sense!!! Our guests this week are Professor Nancy Holman and Professor Alan Mace of the London School of Economics. It’s a terrific conversation that invites us to take a step back from how planning and planning reform are often discussed in the public sphere. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Cleo Folkes of Thrive to discuss how we can measure and understand social value. In this episode, we talk through how similar the planning balance exercise is to a social value exercise. Still, for reasons we get into on the pod, we’re not close to turning the planning balance into a quantitative exercise. Be sure to follow for new episodes each we...

In our penultimate episode of 2025, Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Maurice Lange, Analyst at the Centre for Cities and co-author of a report we keep referencing on the show! In this episode, we talk through London's approach to density, incentive structures in local government and possible ways forward for our planning system. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make P...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Jamie Holmes, CEO of Vu. City. In this episode, we talk through the power of Vu. City as a communication tool. We also chat about what’s next for Vu. City, a bit of comparative politics, and a bit of behavioural sociology. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded...

It's our first episode in front of a live studio audience! Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Hannah Irish, Associate at McGuireWoods, discuss the pratfalls and pitfalls of Section 106 legal agreements. We cover: 🔹 What Section 106 agreements are and why they matter 🔹 When they’re required (vs. CIL or conditions) 🔹 Common causes of delay — and how to overcome them 🔹 Legal and policy...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with John Somers, Senior Lecturer in Planning and the Historic Environment and Course Leader of the MA RTPI Apprenticeship programme at the University of Westminster. In this episode, we take a closer look at planning as a profession, how planning is perceived, what skills planners need and how we can support the next generation of planners. Be sure to...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Natalie Taylor, Managing Director at Acacia Management Facilities, specialists in interior and exterior landscaping. We discuss opportunities to introduce more plants into our built environment and what role planning can play to this end. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consulta...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Esther Robinson Wild and Darcie Kerr of historic environment consultancy Robinson Wild. We talked about Robinson Wild's unique approach combining heritage and viability expertise as well as the importance of integrity, expertise and a robust evidence base in determining heritage significance. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Plann...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Paul Willis, Transport Director at YES Engineering, to discuss the Government and Mayor of London's recent policy note, the need for a "common sense" approach to guidance, the efficacy of pre-apps and much more. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautif...