Real estate has rubbished government planning reforms as ”ideological nonsense” which could see less development and undermine the viability of sites. But what’s the alternative?

On this week's We're Still Here podcast, host Emily Wright is joined by residential reporter Emma Rosser and editor Sam McClary for a chat about all things planning. That an a bit of a post-party debrief following last night's virtual EG Awards. 

Up first, Rosser give sus the lowdown on the industry's response to government planning reforms which have been widely slated by the sector for "ignoring commercial property while still calling for the sector to foot the bill for the overhaul."

The British Property Federation (BPF) has flagged concerns that the 80-page document does not include a single reference to "commercial property".  Hugh Ellis, director of policy at the Town and Country Planning Association added that both the private sector and commercial real estate leaders should collaborate on alternative reform that would represent "an increased focus, not on delivery, but on detail expertise, knowledge and evidence to fix the problems, rather than this ideological nonsense."

But how realistic is an industry-wide alliance? And will government listen? Tune in to hear Rosser's thoughts and predictions on the ongoing saga. 

Also on this week's episode a run-down from editor Sam McClary following this week's EG Awards. The event marked the 16th awards but the first presented on a virtual stage and was a welcome celebration in the midst of a tough year. For more, check out the podcast or see the full list of winners here https://www.egi.co.uk/eg-awards-2020/.