Make Planning Make Sense

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...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Marco Tomasi, Director at Formation Architects. In this episode, we sketch a world beyond this one where planning is predictable, timely, and delivery-orientated. Are planning agents soon to be obsolete? Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful Londo...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Prof. James White, Professor of Planning and Urban Design at the University of Glasgow and co-author of Condoland: The Planning, Design, and Development of Toronto's Cityplace. James shares how planning negotiations and land value capture shaped the development of a major brownfield site in central Toronto and what lessons we can draw from this cas...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Alex Uregian, Director of SME developer City Sanctuary. We bring Big Picture Energy to our discussion about the competing priorities for high-quality residential accomodation, the problems paralysing the entire sector, and more than one (pretty darn sensible) apprach that Government can take to work with the sector to actually get affordable homes...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI sits down with Paul Higgs MRICS, Founder of the Millbank Group and former Senior Executive at Barratt. Paul is not pleased, and you shouldn't be, either. Join the conversation about why SME developers are an endangered species, land banking (!), and how policy making has become unhinged from its ramifications. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week. Make Planning Make S...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Peter Murray OBE, founder of New London Architecture, founder of the London Festival of Architecture, prolific author, and thought leader (and much, much more). Peter makes a strong case for a public design vision. A successful design vision needs senior leadership and continuity in the local authority. We talked about Peter's insights in several t...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI sits down with Neil Cawood MAPM MRICS, Director at Anderson Wilde & Harris, who spills the good tea on daylight/sunlight and the anxiety caused by an unpredictable planning system. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful London, England.

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Richard Ashdown, Director at ULL Property, to make sense of financial viability in UK town planning and the justified - yet misdirected - frustration about the insufficient delivery of affordable housing. Be sure to follow for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful Lond...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Ollie Sargent, Strategic Director for the Built Environment at Cartwright, to plot a national campaign for a new civic participation in town planning. Be sure to follow us for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful London, England.

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex sit down with Sarah Chapman, Associate at Markides Associates, for a discussion on where transport planning is going (excuse the mobility pun). Be sure to follow us for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy.

We're back with part 2 of our conversation with Laurie Handcock. In this week's episode, we delve deeper into how heritage, townscape and visual impact factor into planning as we reflect on real world examples from our experience as consultants. Be sure to follow us for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful London, En...

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth are joined by Laurie Handcock, Director of Built Heritage and Townscape at Iceni, for part 1 of a discussion on the roles of heritage, townscape and visual impact in planning. Be sure to follow us for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful London, England.

Town planners Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth are back to brush you up on what the planning balance is and how it works. Be sure to follow the podcast wherever you listen for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful London, England.

Aaron Zimmerman MRTPI and Alex Roth sit down with Tom Slater RIBA, Managing Director of T2S Architecture, to discuss the relationship between architecture and town planning, purposeless submission requirements, the Government's growth agenda, and more. Be sure to follow us for new episodes each week! Make Planning Make Sense is presented by Centro Planning Consultancy and recorded in beautiful Lon...