Colin Wilson - The Revolution of the Planning System

Today’s guest is Colin Wilson, Head of the Old Kent Road Regeneration team. Colin was working in a Local Aurthority planning department in the 1990s, and was about to give up on planning- he was sick of the adversarial relationship between developers and planners. That was when he applied to the newly formed GLA. During his time at the GLA, Colin worked on the major ‘plan-led’ renegration projects at Nine Elms, Kings Cross, and Old Oak Common. In this podcast he describes how the lessons learned from these projects have translated to his work at Old Kent Road, where 20,000 new homes and 5,000 new jobs are planned. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover the power of drawings, how beds-and sheds have a future in London, and how to build 20,000 new homes without loosing the sense of a human scale. This podcast is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the role of the GLA, or is interested in development in Southwark.