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Simon, Ben and Planner regular Nicola Gooch are joined by London planning maven Brett Leahy, and there's only one thing on their minds: the recently released draft London Plan.  Brett, who was recently appointed interim growth and transformation lead at Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council, spent nearly a decade in high-level planning roles at Enfield and Redbridge Councils. From green belt, housing targets, and nature recovery, he's well placed to dig into whatever the capital's new planning blueprint throws up...  The team also runs through some of their highlights of the July/August issue of The Planner.

The tenth episode of PlannerPod sees the team welcome CityEd (AKA Ed), a YouTuber and practising planner who’s amassed 40,000 subscribers and more than more than 2.2 million cumulative views (!) across his videos.  Ed sat down with Simon and Ben from The Planner to talk about all things placemaking, planning, and knitting: from his tentative first steps in creating videos to (relative) YouTube stardom.  How did he get started? What sort of community has built up around his channel? How has the planning sector reacted to it? Where does he get those jumpers? We covered plenty in our chat with Ed – listeners will be disappointed to hear that editor Simon Wicks’ sartorial guidance on dressing for extreme heat didn’t make the final cut.  Hosts: Simon WicksBen GoslingGuest: CityEd

Even in places that are experiencing war, planning continues to function. But how? And how is the work of planners influenced by the need to contribute to healing in a post-conflict society? Marina Milosev, a 2026 Planner woman of Influence, has spent much of the last year working on local plans in Ukraine, on behalf of UN-Habitat. She also lived through conflict during a childhood in Serbia. In a conversation that ranges across the challenges of working in a region afflicted by armed conflict, the upheaval and trauma created by war and the need to support societies to heal, Marina talks about her work in Ukraine and how it aligns with the themes of equality and inclusiveness that have characterised her career to date. The team also discuss the latest issue of The Planner, take a lengthy diversion into the work of Stephen Sondheim and consider the relationship between planning and music.

In which The Planner team meets Rachel Fisher, the new chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, to chat about why she applied for the role, her thoughts about the future direction of the RTPI, the importance of town planning to social cohesion and the RTPI's role in building bridges between the profession and the public. Along the way, the team also delves into the latest issue of The Planner, taking a closer look at our interview with Nick Tyler of the PEARL facility that monitors how people behave in real-world environments, and the growing role of large language models and artificial intelligence in planning. Is it a good thing? Or, as our article suggests, an innovation to be approached with caution? Hosts: Simon WicksLaura EdgarBen GoslingGuest: Rachel Fisher

In which, to mark International Women's Day, the Planner team chats with Anna Sabine, MP for Frome and East Somerset, about the failure to mention women's safety in the draft National Planning Policy Framework for England. During the course of our conversation, Anna and Laura (The Planner's news editor) discuss why women's safety in public spaces is such a pressing issue; Anna laments the absence of joined-up thinking between government departments which have failed to relate the government's violence again women and girls strategy with the planning for the built environment; and the team discuss eswhat planning policies devised with women and girls in mind might look like. Anna then talks about her experiences as a new MP and Laura draws attention to the Planner's newly published Women of Influence list.

After nearly eight years as the RTPI's chief executive, Dr Victoria Hills is moving on at the end of December. For episode 6 of PlannerPod, we caught up with the outgoing chief to look back on her time at the helm, her successes, her disappointments and her hopes for the institute and for planning. It's a relaxed and candid interview that digs beneath the surface of what drives Victoria and how she's grown into the role, including the revelation of the 'Hillsey gene' and ideas for a t-shirt for planners. We also catch up with outgoing RTPI Young Planner of the Year, Frances Keenan, who chats about what the young planner of the year actually does, how she's balanced it with work and her advice for her successor. Presenters: Simon Wicks, Laura Edgar Guests: Dr Victoria hills, Frances Keenan Key moments: 00:00 | Intro | Simon Wicks 01:27 Planner picks: Planning for prisons | Cover art | Children's play 04:10 Interview: Dr Victoria Hills | Reasons for leaving | Highlights and successes | Any regrets? | Motivation | Growing into the role | future of planning | Next steps for the RTPI | Victoria's new role 39:03 Interview: Frances Keenan | Being Young planner of the Year | Highlights | Balancing the role with work | Advice for her successor 48:50 Wrap-up and Women of Influence reminder 49:50 Close

In which, The Planner team chats with planners – and social media content creators – Mahsa Ige and Nouvella Kusi about how the planning profession can use social media to talk about planning, urbanism and development with a wider audience. To coincide with the launch of the RTPI's It Takes Planners & You campaign, we delved into the use of social media platforms to expand the planning profession's reach and to improve its communication with the people who are most affected by planning projects and decisions – the general public. Over the course of this discussion Mahsa and Nouvella share their thoughts on: How to get startedTheir approach to creating engaging contentHow they're building an audienceDealing with negativityThe impact maintaining a social media channel on them and their working livesYou can find Mahsa and Nouvella on Instagram at @theurbanplan_her (Nouvella)@urbanistonamission (Mahsa)

What's the relationship between housing and economic growth? What's required to translate development into healthy economic activity?  In this National Planning Conference preview, The Planner's Simon Wicks and Nicola Gooch speak to Danny Collins, head of economics for Iceni Projects, and Shanika Mahendran, the cabinet member for planing and placemaking in Milton Keynes about the relationship between housing and economic growth. What makes good growth and the prospect of a new swathe of new towns. Following this, Nicola Gooch delves into some of the planning issues relating to water - the need for it to support new development and the regulation of pollution. Key moments: 00:00 |Intro | Simon Wicks 01:00 Planner picks: Anglesey engagement | Cover art | National Planning Conference 04:17 Interview: Danny Collins and Shanika Mahendran | Housing and growth | Planning for growth in Milton Keynes |  Securing 'good' growth | Utopian visions | The political backdrop | Infrastructure and growth | New towns and 'renewal' towns 34:38 Spotlight | The water issue

Episode 3 of The Planner magazine's PlannerPod podcast, in which our editorial team is joined by guest host and regular Planner columnist Nicola Gooch to delve into the transformation of the UK's electricity grid with special guest Rob Shaw. We also share our thoughts on the potential of storytelling in planning: can we do a better job of engaging the public with the work of planners? Hosts: Ben Gosling, Nicola Gooch, Simon Wicks Guest: Rob Shaw MRTPI, managing director of Third Revolution Projects Key Moments 00.00 Intro | Ben Gosling 00.43: Planner picks | Strategic planning, L7 apprenticeships, gambling venues, solar overplanting 07.24 The PlannerPod interview | Rob Shaw MRTPI on the UK's grid transformation and the role of planning in facilitating this 40.50 Spotlight | Storytelling and planning

Episode 2 of The Planner magazine's PlannerPod podcast, in which the Planner's editorial team and guests Miriam Levin and Simon Creer pick out their highlights from the last two months of Planner activity, chat about a new report into public engagement and delve into the results of The Planner's 2025 Careers Survey. Can planning do a better job of engaging with the public? Hosts: Simon Wicks, Laura Edgar and Ben Gosling Guest: Robbie Calvert, MRTPI, head of policy and research at the RTPI Key moments: 0:59 Planner picks | Women of Influence reception | UKREiiF | Hippodamus 05:46 The PlannerPod interview | Miriam Levin of Demos and Simon Creer of the RTPI discuss a new report, The MIMBY Majority, and explain how planning can do better to engage with a wider range of people within the communities it affects. 39:40 Spotlight | The Planner Careers Survey 2025

In which the Planner's editorial team and this episode's guest, Robbie Calvert, pick out their highlights from the latest issue of The Planner magazine, chat about the sector-changing Planning and Infrastructure Bill and delve into the pressing issue of loneliness and the built environment. Can sensitive planning help to relieve social isolation? Hosts: Simon Wicks, Laura Edgar and Ben Gosling Guest: Robbie Calvert, MRTPI, head of policy and research at the RTPI Key moments: 0:53 Planner picks | BNG one year on, doughnut economics in Bhutan, Women of Influence, an interview with the chief planning inspector 15:56 The PlannerPod interview | Robbie Calvert MRTPI on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, including: the purpose of planning, strategic development plans, delegated powers, statutory consultees and resources in planning.