# Hitting the High Notes - Richard Schofield

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/50-shades-of-planning-1168819/hitting-the-high-notes-richard-schofield
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/50-shades-of-planning-1168819/hitting-the-high-notes-richard-schofield.md
Podcast: [50 Shades of Planning](https://stenobird.com/podcast/50-shades-of-planning-1168819)
Published: 2026-07-25T09:00:20+00:00
Episode link: https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/hitting-the-high-notes-richard-schofield
Audio file: https://downloads.pod.co/b6f9f0f9-d7fe-4a5a-836c-563849ec1a3e/20938d14-ffb3-4a44-bd28-490049c94e19.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/50-shades-of-planning-1168819/episodes/hitting-the-high-notes-richard-schofield
Duration seconds: 3970

## Resource

This is another episode in the Hitting the High Notes series, which, if you have not listened to one before, is town planning's equivalent, nee rip off, of Desert Island Discs. During these episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the planning permissions or projects that have helped to shape them as professionals and, so that listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every permission, project or stage of their career, Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, please have a look at the YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist to which there are links below. This episode features a conversation that Sam recorded at PodFirst studios in Nottingham in January 2026 this with Richard Schofield . Richard began his career in planning as a policy officer in local government, becoming the Head of Planning at Bassetlaw. As listeners will hear, having got a local plan adopted and in need of a fresh challenge, Richard joined the Planning Inspectorate, becoming Chief Planning Inspector, before departing for a now extended secondment within the Chief Planner’s Department in MHCLG. Over the course of an hour or so, as well as talking through his career to date, Richard touches upon the case for national development management policies, how to adopt a local plan in thirty months, and the best way to wind up an inspector at an inquiry. Some accompanying reading. Confessions of a curious mind:…

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## Transcript

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