Alan Southerby

Chief Planning Officer

Powys City Council

In mid 2007 I was working as the Development and Building Control Manager at Braintree District Council in Essex. The council was approached by IWC Media Company, who had been commissioned by the BBC to do a documentary on local government planners. Having already secured the agreement of a couple of London Boroughs, IWC wanted a more provisional and rural take on things to add some balance to the show.

Agreeing to appear in the series meant we had to accept no editorial control over the programme’s content. I can remember the team piling into the Director’s room to have a pep talk on how we should conduct ourselves, for the good of the Council. We also had to get the approval of the Council Chief Executive and the Leader but overall everyone was supportive and saw it more as an opportunity than as a risk.

I was particularly keen for the chance to dispel some myths about planning and open the doors to the public on the emotive and confrontational nature of our business. We all know that there is a balance to strike that is bound to upset at least one party. My motivation was to help get this across and to show how decisions are made.

The filming itself was really straightforward. Just two people, one with a camera, the other with one of those big microphones. It turned out the crew loved the car shots and once I found myself driving the same route round Braintree four times while I tried to concentrate on my driving and say something cogent and sensible to the camera. On another occasion, I had to look up some old shots on the camera from a week or two back before knowing what to wear the next day for some ‘continuity’ shots. I even had to walk out of the Council offices three times one evening to get the most poetic shot; some local youths thought it was a hoot and made sure I knew it!

The filming duo did all the research. They would scan an agenda laden with seemingly straightforward cases and have the ability to pick out a couple with a hidden twist. They would also make sure we didn’t do any of the running or organising ourselves. Catching people unawares produces much better results although I must admit that walking onto a site with a film crew adds a certain spice to the otherwise mundane.

In the end we’ve had to wait a long time for the screening. A colleague of mine made a great joke the other day when I was bemoaning the fact that the show keeps being re scheduled on BBC One. First it was a Traffic Cops special and then it was the Big Cat Week. Just when I was getting ready to tell everyone my time was nigh, we got put back again for a one-off Panorama about the Credit Crunch! My colleague pointed out that there was a hidden irony in all this; something to do with 8-weeks and slipping timescales!

Was it not Andy Warhol who said that we all have our 15 minutes of fame? I guess he was right. Would I do it again? Yes. IWC have done what they promised and delivered a cracking show that truly portrays the trials and tribulations of being a local council planner. This is why we went for it in the end and I’m really pleased with the results.

Author:

Sophie Stapleton

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

05-Dec-08

Sections:

News & Media

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