
Head of Policy & Campaigns at @CreateStreetsFN ๐ก Views my own.
Skegness โก๏ธ London
Joined April 2021
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Allow me to introduce you to...
Paradise Regained: The conservative case for restoring English nature ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ๐ณ
This new paper is the first step towards a distinctly conservative approach to restoring our green and pleasant land, rooted in our philosophical tradition.
๐งต๐
โ56. Make pavement dining licences automatic and permanentโ
Reform wants to #ScrapTheTableTax - wahay!!
Britain is broke. And to fix it, we need to start growing again.
Thatโs why Reformโs Economic Rescue Plan includes these 64 pro-growth measures Iโd take if I were Chancellor:
๐จ๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ
1. Approve Rosebank
2. Restart oil and gas licensing
3. Legalise onshore exploration
4. Abolish the Energy Profits Levy
5. Restore maximum economic extraction as the North Sea regulator's objective
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป
6. Abolish the Emissions Trading Scheme
7. Halt the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
8. Repudiate AR7 contracts for difference and scrap AR8
9. Implement the Fingleton Review on nuclear in full
10. Automatically approve French and South Korean nuclear designs
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
11. Cut affordable housing requirements on brownfield sites
12. Permitted Development Right for brownfield housing
13. Repeal Biodiversity Net Gain
14. Exit the Aarhus Convention
15. Repeal and reform the Habitats Regulations, including Nutrient Neutrality
16. End the boiler ban
17. Legalise air conditioning to meet overheating rules
18. Remove mandatory EPC improvements
19. Revoke the Future Homes Standard
20. Repeal the Renters' Rights Act
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
21. Legislate approval for new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick
22. Auction airport landing slots
23. End 'target-consistent' carbon pricing in project evaluation
24. Ban carbon emissions considerations in planning applications
25. Fast-track all water reservoirs as nationally significant projects
26. Make Development Consent Orders a true one-stop shop
27. Restrict judicial review of ministerial planning decisions
28. Scrap Net Zero construction rules
29. Scrap the social value test in procurement
30. Lift launch limits at SaxaVord Spaceport
31. Open completed sections of East-West Rail
๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
32. Review regulatory barriers to AI adoption
33. Permit on-site gas generation for data centres and industry
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
34. Cut Employer NI back to 13.8%
35. Introduce a migrant worker levy
36. Repeal the Employment Rights Act
37. Clarify that workplace rights don't require mandatory training courses
38. Let experienced tradesmen work on government contracts without CSCS qualifications
๐จ๐ป๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐
39. Review bank capital requirements to boost lending
40. Rule out Net Zero in financial regulators' remits
41. Repeal climate-related financial disclosure rules
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
42. Scrap airport 'surface access strategies'
43. Abolish the electric vehicle mandates
44. Apply domestic GB hours to all UK HGV trips
45. Ban Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods
46. Back the M4 Relief Road
47. Move a new car's first MOT to four years
48. Abolish the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
๐จ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐
49. Replace GDPR with a New Zealand-style Privacy Act
50. Fully re-legalise Imperial units
51. Review all unchanged EU law
52. Automatically repeal remaining EU law in 5 years unless retained
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
53. Make quarterly Making Tax Digital reporting voluntary
54. Reduce legal obligations on SME Non-Executive Directors
55. Double permission-free event days from 28 to 56
56. Make pavement dining licences automatic and permanent
57. Let shops open until 10pm, except Sundays
58. Repeal board diversity and inclusion rules
59. Remove the Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate
60. Abolish the packaging tax
61. Scrap BBC and Channel 4 priority on streaming platforms
62. Remove the Public Sector Equality Duty
63. Five-year sunset on all QUANGOs
64. Five-year sunset clause on all new regulations
And there are more to come!
Britainโs full potential is waiting to be unleashed ๐
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
No function, not one, not ever, is an excuse for loveless design. Create harmonious detail & coherent & biomorphic complexity for better places & happier people.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
No, weโd have a sovereign wealth fund worth zero pounds because it had been raided every election time to increase funding for state pensions and the NHS
โWe'd have a British sovereign wealth fund now that will be worth probably a trillion poundsโ
Chancellor @JohnHealey_MP suggests what Britain could have gained if it had set up an energy wealth fund like Norwayโs back in the 1980s
#Peston
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
๐The ultimate water explainer video ๐
I have redone the water video. It now includes many more topics and more data. It covers all aspects and there should be something here for everyone from bathing water, to tap water and river testing. All with sources.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
I have very exciting news. Thanks to a generous gift from @patrickc, the Crรฆft Prize is growing to ยฃ110,000.
My March open call for artisan-innovators fusing the wisdom of craft with cutting-edge technology sparked a flood of excellent submissions.
In early 2027, we will host an awards ceremony, exhibition, and conference exploring how craft can breathe soul and beauty into the machine.
Read all about it ๐
Maybe building our entire economy around services wasnโt a good idea. But at least we can pivot to physical AI in manufacturing & data centre buildout with our cheap energy and permissive planning system
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
Escalation in the think tank pivot to video wars, with the @CPSThinkTank now deploying drones
Replying to @rcolvile
For this paper, @CPSThinkTank & @createstreets carried out the most detailed survey of Englandโs green belts in years. We trawled the data. We flew drones. And we found there is an awful lot of beautiful, valuable land. But there is an awful lot that isn't.
The subjectivity embedded within the English planning system makes applications too costly, lengthy, and unpredictable, no matter their size and potential impact.
Small but telling case studies show the value of a more rules-based approach. Croydon versus South Tottenham, for example, illustrates why design expectations must be codified too.
Read more...
Replying to @salonium @WorksInProgMag
By-right permitting, taking planning powers off local councils, removing requirements e.g. around parking, removing (rather than adding!) subjective reviews.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
Interestingly, this is precisely the case for more popularly beautiful development. The current system in UK does have a view on design but does so subjectively, unpredictably & normally in a way non-aligned with public preferences. Bring the democracy forward, set popular ..
Replying to @salonium @WorksInProgMag
By-right permitting, taking planning powers off local councils, removing requirements e.g. around parking, removing (rather than adding!) subjective reviews.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
โEverything changed when that container full of Barbour jackets washed up on the island. Completely changed the social hierarchy.โ
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
We have installed new carpet in our woodland
I think you will agree it is most fetching
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
100 years ago, England embarked on one of the most successful urban expansion projects in history: the creation of Metroland, beautiful suburbs and towns, strung along the railway lines out of London. Today, @SCP_Hughes, @createstreets and I set out how we can do it again. (1/?)
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
A compliment. I think we need a lot more childish awe, imagination and wonder in a built environment which has become ugly, harsh, grey and dull.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
Britainโs nature is in crisis. We are one one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, with more than 200 species at risk of extinction.
If you just followed debates online or in parliament you would assume that the biggest issue for nature is building. Discussion of nature restoration revolves around planning policy for buildings, not payments to farmers to protect and restore nature. Yet just 7% of Britainโs land is built on. 69% is agricultural land.
Nearly a quarter of agricultural land is upland sheep farms. In most recent years the price of wool does not even cover the cost of shearing a sheep. Just 1% of our calories come from lamb. But these farming businesses have been kept on life support by public money: most upland hill farming income now comes from subsidies rather than food production.
Britainโs uplands are stark, open spaces. This is not โnaturalโ. Many of these landscapes were once forests. Some were even โtemperate rainforestsโ a landscape once widespread, now almost entirely destroyed. We should restore at least some of these landscapes.
And, as the sheep farmer James Rebanks has put it. โThere is a simple mechanism for transitioning farming to create landscapes you want โ pay farmers to do it, pay them fairly at an appropriate rate, and ensure that the payments are guaranteed for long enough for them to be viable.โ
In Scotland and Wales we still mostly do the opposite. We subsidise farmers to keep grazing the hills. In England, on paper, things have changed. But things are happening far too slowly.
Three years ago 56 โLandscape Recoveryโ projects were announced. Just 3 have moved from planning to delivery. Every project must be over 500 hectares (the size of a small town) requiring many farmers to work together and the creation of new legal entities.
To convince government that they are ready to begin work, farmers have founded they need to hire project managers, stakeholder consultation specialists, green finance consultants, solicitors, and accountants. So far so projects have spent ยฃ37 million of taxpayer money on design work. Government has also inserted a โ โtermination for convenienceโ clause which they can exercise at any time . Farmers who have committed to multi decade projects can have the rug pulled from under them.
If we want to restore nature, instead of arguing about building on car parks in big cities we should instead focus on getting the right deal for farmers. Government needs to make an offer to farmers on nature that is credible and does not need an army of consultants to access. Until then, sheep farmers are going to keep trying to make their money from sheep.
Read more here: britishprogress.substack.comโฆ
All credit to @TomGegg and Ted Theisinger (who is too sensible to be on here).
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
Introducing tiny.london
A massive isometric pixel map of London, based on amazing NYC demo by @_coenen from 9 months ago
My agent created the dataset, finetuned qwen image LoRA adapter, did a multiday inference run and built an efficient tile viewer!
I wanted to share something I built over the last few weeks: isometric.nyc is a massive isometric pixel art map of NYC, built with nano banana and coding agents.
I didn't write a single line of code.
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
Let me get this straight. Work all your life building a business. Sell that business to a rando - charged at 24%. Try to pass it on to your family - charged at 45%. Genuinely insane telegraph.co.uk/politics/202โฆ
Kitty Thompson๐ฟ retweeted
The plans to rebuild Parliament are indeed indefensible, outrageous, unnecessary. The most wasteful scope creep I have ever seen. Hereโs whatโs wrong with them, why and how to fix it: thecritic.co.uk/call-for-theโฆ







































