Simon Ricketts

Dave Hill: Will Labour's London housing boost plan work? Changes to jump start private sector development have supporters and critics, but policy-makers believe the current approach must change

There's been a lot of media commentary about forthcoming emergency changes to @mayoroflondon.bsky.social planning policies designed to increase housing supply, much of it loud and shallow. I hope this isn't: www.onlondon.co.uk/dave-hill-wi... @simonicity.bsky.social @tomcopley.bsky.social #london

Cover of Seasons in the Sun - Britain, 1974 - 1979 by Dominic Sandbrook

These were very happy years for me and I’m finding out in excruciating detail how wrong I was.

Motion to replace the saying “jumped the shark” in the American lexicon with “flew the poop airplane.”

’Night Lights of Piccadilly’ (from ’This Is London’, 1959)

’Night Lights of Piccadilly’ (from ’This Is London’, 1959)

🎨 Mirsoslav Šašek

#fineart #piccadillycircus

London Stalling This one is about the current position with London (non) development and some thoughts about what procedural steps may be open to you if you are a London (non) developer with a planning permission …

New blog post, London Stalling

simonicity.com/2025/10/18/l...

I call this art installation “Cat in Tree”.

The BBC are accidentally running the subtitles to Mrs Marple over the Mercury Prize, and it’s rather wonderful. A few of lines could plausibly have been written by Jarvis.

Lyse Doucet and Jeremy Bowen fine reporting from Middle East reminder of BBC journalism as it used to be…deeply informed, sober and balanced …sad to say marks out shallow sensationalism of BBC’s reporting of Westminster politics ….

Somehow, none of these people are saying Nigel Blackwell from Half Man Half Biscuit.

I went to a conference recently and was astounded by how long people were capable of speaking for to no obvious point. Despite some old myths, my profession have it driven into us that time is money so hard that I’ve become even less tolerant than I might once have been….

Indeed, she was a bit confuzzled…

Simon

We’ve had clients feed our advice notes into chatGPT for comments and a mark-up and even been presented with a first draft of some pleadings to work from!! & when I explain why this is not a good idea at all of course it is seen as protectionist…

This is huge & what appears to have unlocked the veto was strong-arming of the water company. More please! For background on the longstanding north Sussex water neutrality issue see my blog post from almost exactly four years ago: simonicity.com/2021/10/09/d...

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Tube advert of broken down car, woman looking at phone, words on ad: “ChatGPT”.

ChatGPT advertising that it guzzles energy before not getting you to your intended destination.

When you order a ventriloquist dummy from Temu.

To-night I am going to clean my briefcase again, and then perhaps go to the discotheque and have an early night I hope.

Credit @newyorker.com

❤️

Pottery crouching cat

Speckled pot

Patterned jug

Container with 1958 on it

I thought I’d share some pics of a few pieces of my very talented late dad’s pottery. I have known these for literally the whole of my life and I love and admire them more and more.

Bonne journée à tous ! 👋

Un peu de mignonnerie pour débuter ce samedi ....

#Radiohead 🎶

Reading a KC’s CIL opinion is your version of normal people’s cracking open a welcoming beer. Enjoy it all!

Hillside: Every Journey Starts With The First Step Various people have asked me what I made of the amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that Lord Charlie Banner KC sought to introduce last month, seeking to lance the large boil that is…

New blog post, Hillside: Every Journey Starts With The First Step

simonicity.com/2025/10/03/h...

I’ve been wanting to see Manchester’s most exciting band Arkayla for a while. They played at a BBC Introducing event at the tiny Lower Third in Soho tonight and I hope they will be huuuge. Tribal singalong songs, Aztec Camera meet the Libertines meet first album Arctic Monkeys.

@homesnickw.bsky.social 😂

What on earth are all the UK lawyers doing? A short explainer and a job offer /1

Initial government response - September 2025

Govt response to New Towns Taskforce recommendations. The Taskforce’s 12 locations still being considered (“Tempsford, Crews Hill and Leeds South Bank looking particularly promising”). More by next Spring so watch this space or rather these various large spaces.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Sadiq deputy hints at major policy shift to increase homebuilding Deputy Mayor for Planning Jules Pipe has told a high-level conference to expect "immediate measures"

New for OnLondon by @charleswright57.bsky.social: Sadiq Khan's deputy for planning hints at imminent major policy shift to help increase homebuilding: www.onlondon.co.uk/sadiq-khan-d... @simonicity.bsky.social @tomcopley.bsky.social @london.gov.uk @zoegarbett.bsky.social @hinabokharild.bsky.social

Just What Is It About Today’s Planning System that Makes Appealing So … Appealing? On 22 September 2025 the Secretary of State allowed two recovered appeals, granting planning permission for proposals which local authority members had refused against their professional officers’ …

New blog post, Just What Is It About Today’s Planning System that Makes Appealing So … Appealing?

simonicity.com/2025/09/27/j...

That’s good because honesty the best policy - rather than those “I am going somewhere where I will have very little internet access” unless you’re heading out to the west of England or something.