iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Hearing unconfirmed reports that @andyburnham.bsky.social has asked Donald Trump if he’s ever played centre forward and, if so, would he like to sign for Everton as a free agent.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Jonn’s newsletter is great - I would definitely recommend it. And you get a signed book!

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Reposted by Paul Smith

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

contrary to the most conventional of all conventional wisdoms, the "help to buy did nothing but shove up house prices duh" wisdom, it actually worked www.gov.uk/government/p... report from people putting a lot more work into the question, worth a breezy look at

gov.uk

Evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme: evaluation findings report

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Chris Curtis MP @chriscurtis94.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Certainly not the headline, but just an astonishing story that illustrates why it's so difficult to get things done. If people demand a *second review* into allow staff in number 10 to copy and paste, after a demand from the PMs CofS, no wonder we can't build a high speed railway line.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Everton legend Duncan Ferguson on his foray into land promotion. It’s not easy!

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

For most of the last 20 years, it has been a given that building new homes is financially viable. For reasons including regulatory burdens and more general inflation, that is no longer the case. I've explained how that impacts planning for Housing Today. www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/the-...

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Great statistic by @pmsmith.bsky.social speaking to the difficult realities that the NPPF is easy to edit, and hard to enforce.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The National Planning Policy Framework is replaced more quickly than the time it takes to determine planning applications for new homes. Over the last five years, the average time between NPPF updates is 414 days. The median time to determine an outline application for new homes is 439 days.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Here’s something about the pre-application process and why, frankly, it’s a bit of a mess. But we can fix it! open.substack.com/pub/longwall...

open.substack.com

Surely we can make the pre-application process better?

Widely differing views on the way the pre-application process works show that it urgently needs improving.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

“Spend enough time working in England’s planning system, and it will make anyone cross. Planning minister Matthew Pennycook appears to have reached that point too.” This month’s Housing Today column is about the increasing use of intervention powers by @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social. 🔗 below.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

This pre-application advice may not reflect the views of the Local Planning Authority.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

What’s the difference between Leeds and the New Brighton Adventure Golf Course? Leeds doesn’t have a tram.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

What a brilliant book this is by James Cheshire. Beautiful photos of some incredible maps and the stories behind them. Cost me a fortune in old maps from eBay though!

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Reposted by Paul Smith

Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 22/07/2026

A quarter of young children now live in the private rented sector. In fact, children are now more likely than adults to do so. 🏠 More in our last Housing Outlook➡️ buff.ly/SNjZ77G

Figure showing the growing number of children living in the private rented sector.

While fewer than one-in-ten under-11s lived in the PRS in 2000-01, by 2024-25 it was one-in-four. The number of children living in the private rented sector has tripled – from 1.1. million children in 2000-01 to 3.2 million in 2024-25. As a result, children are now more likely than adults to live in the tenure (23 per cent compared to 22 per cent).

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Yours in negritude, Ryan K. Smith @mewefree.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Two people tried to enter a screening of The Odyssey without buying tickets after hiding inside a miniature model of the Trojan Horse. 😂😂😂

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Agree with every word of this excellent post but especially this www.speakandregret.michaelinzlicht.com/p/my-p-hacki...

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

This is amazing. Why we’ve got the costs of delivering a trans-Pennine tunnel linking Manchester with Sheffield completely wrong. An affordable, transformative project in the North? Sounds like something @andyburnham.bsky.social might be attracted to. open.substack.com/pub/limbostr...

open.substack.com

Norse by Northwest

Why I need to build a tunnel under the Pennines

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Is “making a seasonal salad” really “design and technology”?

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Our recent research showed that residential planning applications are taking 3.3 times longer to determine than in 2010. Here, I've explored what's driving that slowdown and why it matters beyond the simply inconvenience of delay - including some brand new data! open.substack.com/pub/longwall...

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Everyone’s being much more polite on the X, fwiw.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I’m stuck inside the neoliberal paradigm! 🙌

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

If housing affordability is a supply problem, we’d expect the places building the most homes to be the most affordable - exactly what the data shows. No major US housing market has both high house prices and high build rates. There’s no reason to think England’s housing market is any different.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

In our new research paper, we've looked at data from 132,000 major housing applications in England spanning the last 15 years to see how long it takes to get a decision for applications of different types and sizes. It's not a pretty picture... 🔗 www.strategiclandgroup.co.uk/insights/the...

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

This, of course, has happened on Andy Burnham’s watch.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I know Barca have a lot of players, but that’s some squad number.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

This is possibly the greatest two hours of television I’ve seen. Partridge fans, in particular, will love it. CHEESE! CHEESE! CHEESE! www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

bbc.co.uk

Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling Races 2026

The Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling race is like no other, where participants throw themselves down Cooper's Hill after a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Application fees are going up. Despite the good intentions, it’s hard not to see this as ducking a more difficult problem. The planning system is under-resourced not just because fees are too low but because it has become increasingly complex and inefficient. www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/plan...

housingtoday.co.uk

Planning application fees should only go up if the process improves also

Simply charging more for a broken system doesn't fix it. Here's what ministers should do instead to improve planning, writes Paul Smith

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

When every new home has to have an EV charger.

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The Strategic Land Group @strategiclandgroup.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Are you baffled by planning and development? Our new Your Questions Answered series is here to cut through the complexity. Ask us anything - we’ll give you a straight answer in an upcoming article. 📩 strategiclandgroup.co.uk/insights/your-questions-answered

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

This leaflet is objecting to a new charity-run sports centre which will also provide education, wellbeing, and community events.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

What if British cities are already basically as dense as those in other countries? Fascinating read from Tom Forth. tomforth.co.uk/densityisdone/

tomforth.co.uk

Density is done.

Britain's large cities are as densely populated as their European equivalents.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

"The new town designation will make no difference whatsoever to that scheme." Former GMCA Chief Executive, Eamon Boylan, shortly before his recent, and untimely, passing, on the Victoria North New Town. From this excellent piece by @joeygardiner1.bsky.social: www.building.co.uk/focus/greate...

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Planning committees are increasingly making decisions based on political, rather than planning, considerations. The cost lands on applicants, council budgets, and families waiting for homes. Could a national scheme of delegation fix the problem? www.housingtoday.co.uk/planning-com...

housingtoday.co.uk

Planning commttee decisions are increasingly becoming politicised – the new national scheme of delegation should help combat this

The planning process should be quasi-judicial and about professional judgement rather than political choices, writes Paul Smith

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

The ‘burbs. 📍 Larchmont, Westchester County, New York.

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Paul Smith @pmsmith.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

This scoring profile probably says something about me, although I can’t quite work out what.

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