James explains why Manchester should bid for the Olympics as an insurance policy for Northern Powerhouse Rail. And we speak to architect Ivan Jordan about why the way we protect historic buildings is broken – and why the listed system needs replacing.James’s newsletter is here.Martin’s newsletter is here.Don’t forget to tell your friends about the pod – and leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts!The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.abundancepod.com
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36:50
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36:50
Let's build a tunnel to the Isle of Wight!
Martin makes the surprisingly persuasive case for building a tunnel to the Isle of Wight. And we speak to Ed Jennings, founder and editor of Kent Current about the maddening story of how NIMBY concerns killed a significant battery storage facility, and just how much worse Reform is making things in Kent, now that the party is in charge of Kent County Council. The answer might surprise you!You can find James’s newsletter here, and Martin’s newsletter here.Don’t forget to tell your friends about the pod – and leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts!The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.abundancepod.com
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36:33
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36:33
HS2's Bridge to Nowhere
Martin tells us the jaw-dropping story of a bridge built for HS2 which is even more egregious than the infamous bat tunnel. This is seriously not to be missed. James explains how a clever new database could make driving much less annoying. And we speak to Lord Ben Gascoigne, Chairman of the Built Environment Select Committee in the House of Lords, about the findings from the first module of the inquiry into New Towns.You can find Martin’s newsletter, which includes his post on the Bridge to Nowhere – and many pictures – here.James’s newsletter and post on digital traffic orders is here.Don’t forget to tell your friends about the pod – and leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts!The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.abundancepod.com
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55:39
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55:39
Why a new build is better than your house
We make the case for new build houses, explaining why they’re so much better than people think, and why you can save frankly an astonishing amount of money on energy bills. Then, relatedly, we speak to Barratt Redrow CEO David Thomas about how volume house-builders navigate Britain’s notorious planning laws, and his pitch for how building on existing carparks could unlock over 700,000 new homes.You can find James’s newsletter, and piece on digital traffic orders here.Martin’s newsletter is here, and he’ll be posting his piece on boomers this week.Don’t forget to tell your friends about the pod – and leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts!The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.abundancepod.com
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58:27
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58:27
Don't have a cow, man!
Martin describes how NIMBY activists in Cambridgeshire have destroyed a popular ‘cow experience’ – and what it says about our relationship with the countryside. James looks at the potential for chaos following the introduction of the European Entry/Exit System, and explains why the way we handle cross-channel freight traffic is broken – and how to fix it. Plus we speak to Tym Syrytczyk from Paradigm Junction about whether Britain is ready for the imminent self-driving car revolutionJames’s piece explaining why a wealth tax isn’t credible is here.James also wrote-up his take on cross-channel freight here (free to read!).Martin’s piece on national service for boomers will be here.Don’t forget to tell your friends about the pod – and leave us a nice review on Apple Podcasts!The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.abundancepod.com
UK