Active Travel England! NPPF Footnote 56! Manual For Streets 3! The Design And Placemaking PPG! And… The VAWG Strategy? Or, can we really deliver safer streets for women and girls?

Are there enough women in the placemaking professions to push the agenda for women-centric streets or are we just going to end up with more DMRB nonsense?

Get all the juice in this week’s Sketch!

#placemaking #activetravelengland #vawg #manualforstreets #mfs3 #nppf #vawgstrategy #paris

Graphic representation of the effect of building within either 800 metres or a 20-minute walk from train stations in SW Surrey, and the harmful effect on the Green Belt that either would bring.

Impact of 'building near train stations' on the Green Belt in SW Surrey. For the full picture, visit normandy-says-no.com
#GreenBelt #TaylorWimpey #GuildfordBC #NPPF #Planning

The Draft NPPF, The Draft Design And Placemaking PPG, Sesame Street… And Sarah Or, why a draft guidance note and Sesame Street might just be the street design heroes we didn't know we needed

According to Cher, women are the real architects of society. I agree.

Find out why in this week’s Sketch...

#placemaking #genderresponsiveplanning #NPPF #TfNH #womenssafety #urbandesign101 #amirite #sesamestreet #equalityact #streets

Didn't somebody promise to fix the broken Planning system #NPPF

#Archaeology has been marginalised in the draft #NPPF - Neil and Catherine of the CBA are giving an online webinar tomorrow to explain more, and advise on responding:

Manual for Streets! The DMRB! Women! And… A Bob Ross Painting? Or, why we’ve spent twenty years obsessing over bin lorries while ignoring the "forever hum of fear”

Motonormativity invites isolation and intimidation. Designing specifically for women invites safer streets for everyone else.

Find out more in this week’s Sketch…

#urbandesign #womenssafety #manualforstreets #equalityact #motonormativity #placemaking #amirite #placemakers #nppf #urbandesigngroup

The Draft NPPF, Thoughtful Urban Design, Open Prisons… And Invisible Women? Or, how the draft NPPF just gaslit half the population

Is it true that, in the eyes of the government, if you’re a woman or a girl, your safety and any misogyny you might encounter while out and about has nothing to do with planning?

Find out in this week’s Sketch…

#placemaking #womenssafety #NPPF #urbanism #janejacobs #amirite #newtowns #urbandesign

Zebras! Unicorns! And… Exercise Snacks? Or, how something as simple as a side street crossing can unlock all kinds of travel and health benefits

I know they’re not enforceable, but, side-street zebras are still making a big difference for pedestrians. A war on the motorist? Hardly.

Get all the juice in this week’s Sketch…

#zebracrossing #westminstercitycouncil #exercisesnacks #sideroadzebra #continuousfootways #nppf

The latest NPPF consultation - a considered look - Better Planning Coalition The Government published a new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) just before Christmas. It’s the biggest change in national planning policy for over a decade, and is a big restruc...

Helpful insights from @richard.hebditch.org on latest #NPPF: including questioning how a new purpose for planning “to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development" is helped when it mentions "growth" 48 times & "sustainable development" just 8

betterplanningcoalition.com/news/the-lat...

A link to all the latest @lichfieldsuk.bsky.social comment on the #NPPF consultation, with blogs on small sites, housing mix, plan making, clarity on green belt, technical standards, the revised presumption, and of course rail stations. lichfields.uk/national-pol... Merry Christmas....

With both the draft National Planning Policy Framework and a consultation document published this week, there is a substantial amount of detail to digest.

Read our response here: www.tcpa.org.uk/tcpa-respons...

#PlanningPolicy #PlanningReform #NPPF #GardenCityPrinciples

NPPF Consultation launched - "Council views must be taken into account" Cllr Tom Hunt, Chair of the LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, said: “The proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework are some of the most significant we’ve seen, so it is crucial that t...

Cllr Tom Hunt, Chair of the LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, responds to the launch of the NPPF consultation by MHCLG:

www.local.gov.uk/about/news/n...

#LocalGov #NPPF #PlanningPolicy

Housing Minister consults on new developments at rural railway stations In an extended statement to Parliament, the Minister for Housing Matthew Pennycook outlined twelve new changes he’s proposing to national planning policies You can read more in the consultati…

NEW BLOGPOST: "Housing Minister consults on new developments at rural railway stations" cambridgetownowl.com/2025/12/16/h... #NPPF -watchers, he also mentioned vision-led transport planning in his 12 new changes that are now out to consultation. Tell him what you think!

Read the statement from TCPA Chief Executive, Fiona Howie, in response to the publication of the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework & other changes to the planning system: shorturl.at/78FvI

#NPPF #PlanningBill #PlanningReform #GardenCityPrinciples #Placemaking #PublicHealth

Public awareness of our inadequate sewerage infrastructure is at an all-time high, compounded by the effects of climate change.

cornerstonebarristers.com/event/planning-day-2025/

#SustainableDrainage #SewerageInfrastructure #PlanningLaw #ClimateChange #FloodRisk #NPPF #PlanningAppeals

Grey Belt: One Year On - Has the NPPF Shifted the Landscape? 🌳Join Edward Grant and Emma Dring as they discuss the impact one year later.

cornerstonebarristers.com/event/planning-day-2025/

#GreyBelt #NPPF #PlanningLaw #GreenBelt #PlanningAppeals

Greying the Greenbelt FINALOct2025.pdf

New Report!
GREYING THE GREENBELT

COMMUNITY PLANNING ALLIANCE
THE UNNECESSARY MAKING OF A GREY, UNPLEASANT LAND

Greying the Greenbelt FINALOct2025.pdf - Google Drive drive.google.com/file/d/13C8XgJoc8-25px2W...

#NPPF #Labour #Planning

Public awareness of our inadequate sewerage infrastructure is at an all-time high, compounded by the effects of climate change.

cornerstonebarristers.com/event/planning-day-2025/

#SustainableDrainage #SewerageInfrastructure #PlanningLaw #ClimateChange #FloodRisk #NPPF #PlanningAppeals

Grey Belt: One Year On - Has the NPPF Shifted the Landscape? 🌳Join Edward Grant and Emma Dring as they discuss the impact one year later.

cornerstonebarristers.com/event/planning-day-2025/

#GreyBelt #NPPF #PlanningLaw #GreenBelt #PlanningAppeals

Banner showing the cover image of 'The NPPF Handbook' and the text: Written by a team of planning experts, this book provides clear, practical guidance and commentary on the NPPF, with reference to ministerial, planning inspectorate decisions and court judgments.

Out now: The NPPF Handbook, edited by Gregory Jones KC & Simon Neate MRTPI.

#HousingPlanning is key to the UK government growth agenda. This book guides practitioners through the meaning & impact of the #NPPF.

Find out more: https://bit.ly/47YjvCC

#PlanningLaw

Petition: Change the ‘grey belt’ definition in the National Planning Policy Framework We want an urgent change to the ‘grey belt’ definition in the NPPF. We think the grey belt glossary definition [which] could result in the loss of our countryside forever - vital for health and wellbe...

Important opportunity to help save the Green Belt: Petition organised by @cprecountryside.bsky.social to get the Government to amend the definition of 'Grey Belt' in the #NPPF
100,000 signatures means it will have to be considered for debate in Parliament
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/72...

Planning reform – where we think we are! - Town and Country Planning Association Since the 2024 General Election it has been a busy time for planning reform with multiple consultations, new planning legislation and more consultations expected! Join us to delve into the…

Don't miss tomorrow's TCPA webinar, where we'll be discussing the latest updates on planning reform and strategic planning.

Get your ticket: www.tcpa.org.uk/event/planni...

#PlanningReform #PlanningBill #NPPF #Nature #HealthyHomes #Climate #NetZeroHomes #StrategicPlanning

Women! Cycling! Paris! And NPPF Footnote 48… 🚴‍♀️ Or, the challenge of delivering the infrastructure that would encourage women to cycle

Let’s face it, there are lots of reasons why we should get on two wheels… so why don’t we?

#cyclinguk #myrideourright #cycling #women #ltn120 #placemaking #nppf #manualforstreets #paris #streetsforkidscitiesforall

theurbansketchwriter.substack.com/p/women-cycl...

Beauty! Stoke-on-Trent! Specsavers? Or, what omissions in the NPPF mean for the quality of the built environment

Perhaps Keir Starmer should just have gone to Specsavers…
#NPPF #LTN1/20 #planning #transport #transportfornewhomes #officeforplace #cycling #placemaking #activetravel

A Bill, Some Insanity and a Conspiracy Or, how a lack of control over some highways authorities will crash the government’s new towns aspirations

Why are highways authorities able to continue using outdated guidance when this puts vulnerable road users at unnecessary and potentially fatal risk?
#placemaking #janejacobs #jangehl #manualforstreets #urbandesigngroup #udg #LTN1/20 #nationaldesignguide #nationalmodeldesigncode #gearchange #NPPF

Raising the healthiest generation in history: why it matters where children and young people live - Town and Country Planning Association Recommendations and an evidence review from the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee inquiry into children, young people and the built environment (December 2024) For decades, governments, ...

The TCPA welcomes the Play Commission’s interim report recommending that children's right to play is properly reflected in England's national planning policy #NPPF. Play, particularly outdoor play, is essential for the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

shorturl.at/Hds8y

Inquiry Report Calls On The Government To Restore School Playtime Amid Warning That Play Is Being Squeezed Out Of Children’s Lives — Play Commission The Raising the Nation Play Commission, a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England, publishes its Interim Report, ‘State of Play’. The Commission...

Great to see this interim report from the #PlayCommission highlight the vital importance of #play and the way it is so neglected in English national policy - including #planning policy #NPPF, which barely mentions children.

www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...