The Planning Podcast

Following the much-anticipated hand-down by the Supreme Court of judgment in CG Fry v SSHCLG [2025] UKSC 35, Daniel Henderson is joined by James Corbet Burcher and Chatura Saravanan to unpack the Court’s analysis of the two main issues, and the legal, policy, and practical implications going forward. 

Daniel Henderson is joined by pupil barrister in the No5 Planning and Environmental Group, Chatura Saravanan, to discuss a number of recent appeal decisions concerning residential schemes, and to identify key takeaways. Also, we have includes the links to some of the appeals discussed.Character and appearance and PDL Land at 1-5 Hillside, Portsmouth Road - APP/K3605/W/24/3350737Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350737VSC without Grey Belt 124 and 142 Church Lane Selston - APP/W3005/W/24/3347049Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3347049Costs Land at junction of Newark Road, Nottinghamshire – APP/W3005/W/24/3350529Link to appeal decisions: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350529Land North of Mucklestone, Staffordshire – APP/P3420/W/24/3350245Link to appeal decision: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3350245

In light of recent legislative changes and policy announcements, we are at something of a hinge-point as to a vital question in planning practice – what is national policy, how is it organised, and what is its effect? In this episode, Daniel Henderson and James Corbet Burcher discuss the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Mead Realisations v SSHCLG [2025] EWCA Civ 32, put it into some context, and seek to explore what its effect might be in future months, following LURA and recent policy changes.

In the second of a two-part series, Daniel Henderson, James Corbet Burcher, and Sioned Davies discuss the basics of ‘how to do a hearing’, this time from the perspective of a Local Planning Authority.

Given the policy framework in which we now find ourselves in 2025, it is inevitable that practitioners are going to see a significant uptick in appeal work in the coming months. Many of those appeals are going to be listed by PINS as hearings. For newcomers as well as those who are familiar with the format, hearings can be mysterious and procedurally difficult. To that end, in this episode, Daniel Henderson, James Corbet Burcher, and Sioned Davies present a basic discussion on ‘how to do hearings’, as part of a two-part series. In this episode, they look at the question from the perspective of the Appellants.