Better Places

Concilio’s Managing Director, Nick Dines, sat down with the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, at UKREiiF.

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast, Managing Director, Nick Dines, sat down with the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, at UKREiiF to discuss Our Time is Now – the Mayor’s bold vision for unlocking the region’s full potential.

Paul highlighted the importance of ensuring growth benefits for the whole region – not just Cambridge, but also places like Peterborough, which he sees as having significant untapped potential. He committed to strategic infrastructu...

Leader of Ealing Council, Cllr Peter Mason, joins Concilio’s Managing Director Nick Dines to discuss housing, regeneration and Ealing’s future.

In this episode of the Better Places podcast, Cllr Peter Mason, Leader of Ealing Council, sits down with Concilio Managing Director Nick Dines to explore how Ealing is planning for a future built on housing delivery, local identity, and innovation.
 
They discuss the borough’s ambitious Local Plan, the 20-minute neighbourhood model, and how Ealing is preparing residents for new opportunities through the West London Tech Corridor and Old Oak Common. Mason also shares his tho...

Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, Shravan Joshi, joins Concilio’s Account Director Luke Tatton for a deep dive into the Square Mile’s future.

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast, Account Director Luke Tatton sits down with Shravan Joshi, Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, for a deep dive into the Square Mile’s future – providing insight into emerging policy, digital planning, and the next generation of talent and investment.

Shravan also discusses what’s next for the Planning...

Alex Woolf, COO of Romulus, on reimagining a former shopping centre for a new era of local living, leisure and flexible working.

In this episode of the Better Places podcast, Concilio’s Managing Director, Nick Dines, sits down with Alex Woolf, Chief Operating Officer at Romulus, to explore how the team turned the struggling Centre Court shopping centre into Wimbledon Quarter - a thriving, community-focused destination.

Alex shares the vision behind the transformation, from bringing in new uses like co-working, leisure and independent F&B, to building local partnerships and even launching a rooftop mushroom farm. Wi...

Leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, Cllr Dominic Twomey joins Concilio’s Account Director Siddo Dwyer to discuss how bold, community-focused leadership is transforming one of London's most dynamic boroughs.

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast, Account Director Siddo Dwyer is joined by Cllr Dominic Twomey, Leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, to discuss how bold, community-oriented leadership is transforming this dynamic outer-London borough.

Dominic Twomey, a local resident turned council leader, is steering the borough through an unprecedented regeneration programme - delivering 50,000 homes and 20,000 jobs by 2037. In this insightful conversation, Dominic reveals:

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In this must-listen episode of Concilio’s Better Places Podcast, Siddo Dwyer is joined by Chris Worrall and Eve McQuillan from Labour YIMBY, leading voices pushing for transformative housing policy within the Labour Party.

With Britain's housing system in crisis, Chris—a prominent housing policy expert—and Eve, who formerly led planning in Tower Hamlets, share their insights into how Labour can become the party of homebuilding, breaking down barriers to deliver genuinely affordable homes.

They discussed: The urgent need for planning reform to unlock stalled developments and overcome political gridlock. Practical solutions inspired by successful intern...

In this episode, we are joined by Councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council. Stephen shares his journey from being first elected in 1998 to leading the council through significant transformations. He discusses the borough's industrial strategy, the collaboration with Imperial College, and the council's commitment to delivering better value for residents. Tune in to hear about the innovative approaches that have positioned Hammersmith and Fulham as a global tech hub and the efforts to ensure inclusive growth for the community.

The founder and CEO of MARK shares the 10 year story of how this iconic London building has been transformed 

In this episode, we explore one of London’s most ambitious regeneration projects—The Whiteley. 
With C C Land as the chief investor, the project is repurposing a historic shopping centre into a world-class mixed-use destination, featuring luxury homes, premium retail, and the UK’s first Six Senses hotel. 
Our guest, Marcus Meijer, founder and CEO of MARK, shares exclusive insights on:  The vision behind The Whiteley’s transformation  C C Land’s pivotal role in securing investment and d...

Camden Council’s Cabinet Member for New Homes & Community Investment, Cllr Nasrine Djemai joins Concilio’s Account Director Siddo Dwyer to discuss the future of Camden.

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast, Account Director Siddo Dwyer sits down with Cllr Nasrine Djemai, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment at Camden Council, to explore the future of Camden, diving into how Camden is shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future.


Key points discussed:

Camden’s Community Investment Programme Affordable Housing & temporary accommodation pressures Climate-focused Future Neighbourhood programmes The repurpos...

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast, Managing Director Nick Dines sits down with Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service, and Lisa Fairmaner, Head of the London Plan, to explore how the London Plan can serve as a foundation for future Spatial Development Strategies across England.

Key points discussed:

How the London Plan can serve as a model for regional spatial development strategies The role of devolution in shaping planning policy across England  How the new regional bodies and unitary councils should seek to find common gro...

Sarah Cary discusses how White City is fostering innovation, sustainability, and community through thoughtful design and strategic collaboration.

In this episode of Better Places, Concilio's Managing Director Nick Dines in conversation with Sarah Cary, White City Development Director at Imperial College London.

Sarah discusses the White City Deep Tech Campus, a thriving hub for innovation, sustainability, and community impact. She and Nick discuss how Imperial is shaping a world-class ecosystem for research, entrepreneurship, and collaboration.

Key Topics discussed: Innovation at White City – How cutting-edge research in AI, biotech, and robotics is driving real-world impact. Su...

On this episode of the Better Places Podcast, Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development at Westminster City Council, joins Account Director, Yiannis Sophocleous for an discussion about the administration’s key priorities for the year ahead, the City Plan Partial Review, and major policy developments at both the London and national level.
Key topics discussed include: Reflections on almost three years in administration and key priorities for the coming year. The Westminster City Plan Partial Review and the Retrofit-First policy—what these changes mean for planning and development in the borough The revival of Oxford Stre...

In this episode, we explore how the planning system approaches data centres, what their designation as Critical National Infrastructure means, and the emerging proposals for AI Growth Zones.
Other key topics we discuss include:
- The Labour Party’s manifesto pledge to remove planning barriers for data centres.
- The Government’s recent classification of data centres as Critical National Infrastructure.
- The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and its impact on data centres.
- The AI Opportunities Action Plan and what it means for future development.
- The challenges of energy consumption, the...

In the latest episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast. Account Director Siddo Dwyer sat down with Lambeth’s Cllr Rezina Chowdhury – Deputy Leader of the Council (Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air). 

The episode focused on current challenges and policies that she has overseen not just in Lambeth but ones that have had a London wide effect. This included:

How Cllr Chowdhury’s upbringing and decade of experience in local government have shaped her policy outlook Her message to developers about helping shape the borough of Lambeth and it being open to sustainable development Lambeth’s race to ach...

We are delighted to share with you the first episode of Concilio’s Better Places podcast for 2025. Our Managing Director Nick Dines sat down with the country’s highest rated planning solicitor – Simon Ricketts, Partner at Town Legal.
In this latest episode of the Better Places podcast Nick and Simon sought to summarise the key planning and local government changes announced by the Government in the run-up to Christmas, discussing:

The 12-week requirement for local authorities to commit to a new timetable for Local Plans What the presumption in favour of sustainable development must have real teeth means...

On the latest edition of the Concilio Better Places Podcast, Account Director Siddo Dwyer sat down with the Leader of Southwark Council, Cllr Kieron Williams. 

The interview focussed on the Southwark Council’s recently published Securing the Future of Council Housing report. Over 100 councils formed an unprecedented coalition to identify five practical solutions for a fairer funding deal and reforms to kick-start the construction of new homes.

This surrounds an ongoing debate about plans to retrofit council properties and measures to bring their stock up to decent standard. We also discuss his journey as Leader of the...

On the latest edition of Better Places, we sat down with leading industry professionals across the property and planning sectors. We were delighted to interview Andy Cox - Director at Trigon development managers, Cat Fraser – Director at Turley planners, and Arron Taggart – Head of UK Investment at Cheyne Capital on their perspective as professionals in the field.
Hosted by our very own Siddo Dwyer, this was a fascinating discussion that sparked a lively debate on how our panel have shaped award-winning places and buildings across London, examining scheme viability, the need for community engagement and dynamics dominating the real esta...

On our latest episode, Director Catherine Rose and Account Director Siddo Dwyer hosted a live recording of our Better Places Podcast at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. The panel explored the ways in which English devolution can be delivered in support of the new Labour government’s mission to build 1.5million new homes, how to deliver the required infrastructure to support this and how to bring local communities along through effective engagement. 
The panel included: 
John Denham – Director of English Labour Network 
Cllr Vince Maple – Leader, Medway Council 
Cllr Anthony Okereke – Leader, Greenwich Council 
Brenda Dacres – Mayo...

On our latest edition of the better places podcast, we have a Haringey special and are joined by the trio of Cllr Ruth Gordon –the Cabinet Member for Housebuilding, Placemaking and Development, David Joyce –the Corporate Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning and Robbie Erbmann –the Assistant Director for Housing. In an insightful conversation with our Account Director Siddo Dwyer, a compelling discussion drew on the borough being open to investment, its placemaking schemes, council homes programmes, and Haringey being named the London Borough of Culture 2027. Concilio has considerable experience in Haringey, especially around Tottenham Hale, where working with Berkeley Square...

Cllr Anthony Okereke the Leader of the Council of the Royal Borough of Greenwich joins us for the latest instalment of the Better Places podcast. Anthony provides great insight into the past decade of growth in the borough and the measures his local authority is taking in enhancing its town centres, creating new places, the Royal Borough's Cultural Hub, and renewing its estates to meet the increased demand for housing.

In our latest edition we are joined by Cllr Andrew Judge the Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainable Development in the London Borough of Merton.
In a detailed and wide-ranging discussion Andrew lays out the plans for regenerating Merton’s high streets and town centres and touches on Merton’s cash injection from the Mayor of London. Andrew also examines the significance of initiatives that has made Merton London’s Borough of Sport and what the future holds in addressing general housing needs while encouraging investment as the borough expands its sport and leisure offer across the borough.

In this episode, we are joined by Cllr Omid Miri, Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham's Planning and Development Control Committee and aspiring London Assembly candidate for the London-wide list. Councillor Miri provides an insight into his experience as the Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham's Planning and Development Control Committee, the barriers to building more homes in the borough and the challenges facing development across the capital. Cllr Miri also discusses his pitch for the London Assembly London-wide list seat whilst looking ahead to the London and general elections taking place this year.

In this episode, Concilio’s Nathan Parsad-Wyatt is joined by Councillor Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning & Economic Development in the City of Westminster, to discuss all aspects of planning and development in 2024. Councillor Barraclough provides a comprehensive update on policy, outlines the key priorities of the administration, and shares his insights on a significant year of elections ahead.

Cllr Shaun Davies, leader of Telford and Wrekin Council and Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Telford joined the latest edition of the podcast. In a wide-ranging discussion Shaun provides an insight into the challenges facing local government across the UK, housing and infrastructure across the West Midlands, Labour’s plans for planning and development, and how he plans to overturn a 10,000+ Conservative majority.

Cllr Anne Clarke AM, London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building joined the latest edition of the podcast. Anne discusses the role of the London Assembly, her experience as a councillor, how Labour historically won Barnet off the Conservatives in 2022 and a look ahead to the elections in 2024!

Concilio’s Nick Dines (Managing Director) was delighted to be joined by Opportunity London’s Chief Executive. Jace outlines the strengths and challenges of the capital,   bringing investment to London, his new position and the role of Opportunity London in helping shape the London of the future.

In our first podcast of 2024 we are delighted to have been joined by two excellent guests from the London Borough of Newham. James Asser - Deputy Mayor of Newham, Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainable Transport and Chair of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee & James Beckles - Chair of Newham’s Local Development Committee, member of the LLDC Planning Committee and aspiring Labour candidate for the London Assembly list

In a wide-ranging conversation the Newham duo discuss the borough’s approach to development, the role of the London Assembly, the Sphere application and whether Labour’s “back the builde...

In our latest edition we were delighted to be joined by Cllr Helen Dennis, Southwark Council’s Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development. In a wide-ranging discussion, we cover the council’s newly announced Local List, the council’s sustainability approach particularly in relation to retrofit first vs demolition, and the approach regarding biodiversity net-gain and much more.

Cllr James Small Edwards, Labour candidate for the London Assembly seat of West Central joined Concilio for the latest edition of our Better Places podcast. Elected in 2022 as Labour won Westminster City Council for the first time, in the key swing ward of Bayswater, James is currently serving as WCC Deputy Cabinet Member for Planning. James was selected by Labour Party members to contest the marginal GLA seat covering Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and RBKC.

Concilio’s Head of London Luke Francis is joined by the Brent's Cllr Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Growth. The pair review a hectic few months in property, planning and politics - discussing everything from the mounting challenges facing residential development across London and to local authorities look for in a good JV partner.

Concilio’s Managing Director Nick Dines sits down with the Co-Chairs of the London Housing Directors’Group, Joanne Drew, Strategic Director for Housing and Regeneration at Enfield Council and Jamie Carswell, Director of Housing and Safer Communities at the Royal Borough of Greenwich

Labour Party Conference Special: Concilio’s Luke Francis and Oscar Harman interview Westminster City Councillors Ellie Ormsby and James Small-Edwards about their experiences at Labour Party conference in Liverpool, their focus on housing and the first 18 months of Westminster’s Labour administration.  

Concilio’s Head of London Luke Francis is joined by the Leader of Barking & Dagenham Council Darren Rodwell. In a wide ranging conversation, the pair discusses how political vision and pragmatism have helped to transform one of the UK’s most deprived boroughs. Looking ahead to Labour Party Conference, Cllr Rodwell also discuss the reasons behind his decision to stand for Parliament and what he hopes to see from the next Labour Government.

In this episode, Concilio's Katie Brown is joined by Colin Brown, Head of Planning and Development at Carter Jonas (or as she personally calls him, Dad!) to discuss the ambitious plans set forth by the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove aimed at supercharging Cambridge as Europe’s science capital. Is it an attainable vision, or does it remain a distant pipe dream, as some sceptics have argued? 

In this episode, Nathan and Luke dive into a discussion on major political events. Our guests are two of the City of Westminster's most senior councillors: Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Cabinet Member for Planning & Economic Development, and Cllr Tim Roca, Cabinet Member for Young People, Culture, and Learning. Together, they reflect on their first year in office and share insights about what is coming next.

Nathan and Luke touch on the fall out from the May 23 local election results and how housing is becoming an election issue. Luke then interviews Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader of Greenwich to discuss delivering homes in an increasingly challenging development environment, the importance of engaging residents and challenging NIMBYism and abseiling down 17 story buildings for charity!

Concilio’s Katie Brown is joined by Claire Flowers, Head of Housing Development Agency at Cambridge City Council to discuss how the public and private sector can work together on housing delivery.

In this episode, Nathan and Luke are joined by Islington’s Cllr Diarmaid Ward – Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance. They discuss - responding to post-Covid ways of living and working in inner London, why development policy ‘red lines’ matter in Islington and Innovative approaches to delivering for local residents. 

Concilio's Managing Director Nick Dines is joined by Simon Ricketts, Partner at Town Legal the leading planning law firm in the UK. The two discuss the Government’s proposed planning reforms, planning law evolution, the establishment of Town Legal, fire safety regulations and Simon’s top three desert island discs!

In the first podcast of 2023, Nathan and Luke focus on the politics of tackling the housing crisis. Featuring an in-depth interview with Dr Nick Bowes, Chief Executive of Centre for London, formerly Mayoral Director of Policy at the Greater London Authority.