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Hail To The Chief
Description
One of the most common topics of conversation that Sam Stafford heard at UKREiiF this year was the need for statutory chief planners. There are perhaps three factors behind that interest in building or strengthening leadership capacity within LPAs. First, the impending programme of devolution and local government reform will create larger teams covering larger geographies that will need to co-operate with newly emerging strategic authorities. Second; more authorities being in no overall control need guiding through the decision-making implications of that. And thirdly, the emerging need to manage the possibly contentious gateway test element of the soon statutory scheme of delegation. A role of statutory status, I also heard it suggested in the context of wider LPA capacity and skills, might be something to encourage a junior officer to stay in local government and work towards were they ever tempted to leave for the bright lights and coffee machines of the private sector.
The RTPI has certainly been keen on statutory chief planners. In February 2025 it set out its legislative proposals for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which, on the basis that only 23% of local planning authorities have a head of planning reporting to the Chief Executive,, included Statutory Chief Planning Officers to "ensure planners have a seat at the leadership table".
Is it as straight-forward as that though? Is planning any different from other place functions (environmental health and licensing, for example) that have statutory functions but no statutory status? The most senior planner in an authority might not have a seat at the leadership table, but does that matter if the person at the 'top table' with responsibility for planning knows and values the role of planning? And would a statutory chief planner have to be a member of the RTPI?
These are some of the questions that Sam invited old friends of the podcast Ben Woolnough, Gilian Macinnes and Alice Lester, and new friend of the podcast Grant Butterworth, to explore in this episode .
Ben is Head of Planning and Building Control at East Suffolk Council; Gilian advises LPAs on improving planning and place-making services and is presently Interim Assistant Director of Planning and Building Control at the Royal Borough of Greenwich; Alice is now doing her own thing having most recently been Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Regeneration at the London Borough of Brent; and Grant is Head of Planning at Leicester City Council.
In a conversation recorded online in July 2026 they talk about management structures, relationship and culture; they talk about dealing with poorly behaved councillors; and they talk about the qualities required to be a good chief planner.
Some accompanying reading.
How many planners are chartered?
Some accompanying viewing.
Some accompanying listening.
Hail To The Chief – Prophets of Rage
Any other business.
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