In this episode of Planning After Dark, Jackie, Catriona and Alex unpack another busy few weeks across housing, planning and local government.

First up is Andy Burnham’s party conference speech - from his promise of the biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era to his focus on housing quality, rogue landlords and ending rough sleeping. The team welcome the ambition, but ask the inevitable PAD Pod question: how is it all actually going to be delivered?

That takes them into council housing, Right to Buy, registered providers, regeneration and the skills, capacity and investment needed to turn political promises into homes. James Pargeter, Darren Rodwell and Lauren Stretch all enter the conversation as the team look at different models for council-led delivery and what can be learnt from places already making public-private partnerships work.

There is plenty happening in planning too. Matt Pennycook’s latest intervention with Planning Inspectorate Chief Executive Graham Stallwood prompts a discussion about the move towards a more permissive planning system, while Alex reports back from Landmark Chambers’ Land Use Conference with Hashi Mohamed - and Catriona wonders whether Lord Charles Banner KC will ever run out of questions for Government.

Elsewhere, the team debate Your First Home, whether renting is still being treated as a second-class tenure, Catriona calls for a more sophisticated approach to housing targets, and Tim Craine’s forensic work on London’s housing delivery figures gets plenty of attention. Jennie Daly, Taylor Wimpey, Rob Perrins, Berkeley Group, Boris Johnson and Tony Pidgley all feature as the conversation turns to just how difficult the London development market has become.

There is also some good news, with Catherine Raynsford’s appointment at Vistry getting the PAD Pod seal of approval, while Toby Fox and Dr Janice Morphet are among those preparing new research for The Housing Forum.

And there is plenty more to come. Andy Street will be joining Planning After Dark in an upcoming episode to unpack Prosper UK’s new Housing Commission report, including its recommendations on council housing, housing supply and how we get the market moving again.

Plus: Amy Rees, Angela Rayner’s return to Fashion Watch - what more could you want?

Get in touch! Message us at ask@planningafterdark.co.uk

Planning After Dark is the bold and insightful podcast where three powerhouse women in planning and development - Alex Notay, Catriona Riddell, and Jackie Sadek - shine a light on the industry’s biggest challenges, trends, and, yes, even a bit of behind-the-scenes gossip.

From navigating the complexities of development to debating the future of our cities, Planning After Dark is the no-holds-barred discussion you won’t want to miss.

Powered by Cratus Group, new episodes drop monthly on all major streaming platforms.

In this special episode of Planning After Dark, Catriona and Jackie are joined in the studio by two local government leaders looking towards the next chapter of English devolution - with Alex joining remotely from Bristol.

Their guests are Lorna Fielker, former Leader of Southampton City Council and Labour mayoral candidate for Hampshire and the Solent, and Bridget Kendrick, Leader of Mole Valley District Council and a prospective Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate in Surrey.

They begin with the personal stories behind their routes into local government - from doorstep campaigning and council casework to taking on leadership roles during periods of significant financial and organisational pressure. Lorna reflects on putting Southampton City Council back on a more stable financial footing, while Bridget discusses Mole Valley’s work on homelessness prevention and the realities of delivering more with increasingly constrained council resources.

From there, the conversation turns to one of the PAD Pod’s favourite subjects: devolution and mayors.

What difference does a directly elected mayor actually make? Why does a single political figurehead matter when councils already work together? And could the mayoral model provide the leadership, powers and investment framework needed to bring housing, transport, infrastructure, skills and economic growth together more effectively?

Lorna and Bridget discuss how their own views on the mayoral model have developed, while Catriona makes the case for combining strategic planning with the funding and delivery powers available through mayoral strategic authorities.

There is also a wider debate about how places attract investment, why some areas struggle to articulate their economic identity and whether the word “growth” itself has become part of the problem. From Surrey’s gaming and technology sectors to Southampton’s regeneration ambitions, the panel considers how stronger place leadership could help areas tell a clearer story about what they offer and where they want to go.

Housing, infrastructure and political bravery inevitably enter the conversation too. How do leaders make difficult decisions when social media suggests one thing but conversations on the doorstep suggest another? And how can mayors build public support for development by connecting new homes with transport, jobs, services and investment in place?

Finally, Lorna and Bridget look ahead to what they would want to achieve through mayoral leadership - from housing, transport and skills to employment, culture and creating opportunities for the next generation.

Plus: bins, imposter syndrome, the Devotini, karaoke trauma and two extremely strong 1980s song choices.

Get in touch! Message us at ask@planningafterdark.co.uk

Planning After Dark is the bold and insightful podcast where three powerhouse women in planning and development - Alex Notay, Catriona Riddell, and Jackie Sadek - shine a light on the industry’s biggest challenges, trends, and, yes, even a bit of behind-the-scenes gossip.

From navigating the complexities of development to debating the future of our cities, Planning After Dark is the no-holds-barred discussion you won’t want to miss.

Powered by Cratus Group, new episodes drop monthly on all major streaming platforms.

In this episode of Planning After Dark, Alex joins from down the line while Jackie and Catriona settle into a suitably pink new studio - and discover that Fashion Watch has officially taken on a life of its own.

The trio start with the first allocations from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, looking at what they could mean for councils, registered providers and the Government’s wider housing ambitions. With the 1.5 million homes target back under scrutiny, they ask the bigger question: how do we move from ambitious numbers to actually getting homes built?

Then it is back to one of the PAD Pod’s favourite subjects - mayors. Catriona reports back on the podcast’s unofficial set text, If Mayors Ruled the World, prompting a wider discussion about mayoral leadership, strategic planning and why devolution could increasingly shape where investment goes and how growth is delivered.

There is also plenty to unpack on local government reorganisation. With LGR paused but devolution continuing, Jackie, Catriona and Alex consider what happens next, whether the two agendas need to be separated more clearly and what Surrey’s progress might tell us about making reform work.

Planning reform, local authority capacity, London’s viability challenge and the need for cultural change across the planning system all come under the spotlight too - alongside the question of whether stronger strategic authorities can finally connect planning, infrastructure, housing and investment more effectively.

And, because it wouldn’t be Planning After Dark without ending on something a little more optimistic, Alex shares what she found on a visit to Brabazon in Bristol - a major development offering a reminder that ambitious, high-quality regeneration really can happen.

Plus: book club, conference season, the return of Fashion Watch and the important question of whether boiling water is ever an acceptable podcast refreshment.

Get in touch! Message us at ask@planningafterdark.co.uk

Planning After Dark is the bold and insightful podcast where three powerhouse women in planning and development - Alex Notay, Catriona Riddell, and Jackie Sadek - shine a light on the industry’s biggest challenges, trends, and, yes, even a bit of behind-the-scenes gossip.

From navigating the complexities of development to debating the future of our cities, Planning After Dark is the no-holds-barred discussion you won’t want to miss.

Powered by Cratus Group, new episodes drop monthly on all major streaming platforms.