Tom Barrett
@plannertomb.bsky.social
Town Planner what does policy stuff. Based in Northern England.
A 2/10 planning storyline on EastEnders.
So Elaine didn't even have an application in, but gets her grandson's connected mate to make a couple of calls to the council to get planning permission... Seemingly on an evening when they're out drinking?
So Elaine didn't even have an application in, but gets her grandson's connected mate to make a couple of calls to the council to get planning permission... Seemingly on an evening when they're out drinking?
December 12, 2025 at 7:02 AM
A 2/10 planning storyline on EastEnders.
So Elaine didn't even have an application in, but gets her grandson's connected mate to make a couple of calls to the council to get planning permission... Seemingly on an evening when they're out drinking?
So Elaine didn't even have an application in, but gets her grandson's connected mate to make a couple of calls to the council to get planning permission... Seemingly on an evening when they're out drinking?
"planning chiefs" will always be my favourite town planning related newspaperspeak word.
Planning chiefs to rule on house extension which will 'overshadow' nearby property
Planning chiefs to rule on house extension which will 'overshadow' nearby property
Planning permission for an extension at 9 Beaumont Chase will be rejected at a planning meeting on Thursday as officers find it in breach of planning codes
dlvr.it
December 3, 2025 at 6:42 AM
"planning chiefs" will always be my favourite town planning related newspaperspeak word.
Reposted by Tom Barrett
i hope every single person who still buys harry potter merch or engages with that franchise is happy that they're literally making girl guides cry
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
December 2, 2025 at 2:33 PM
i hope every single person who still buys harry potter merch or engages with that franchise is happy that they're literally making girl guides cry
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
Reposted by Tom Barrett
My thoughts on another exhausting and frustrating day for some of the bravest people I’ve ever met
Too little too late but the families will keep fighting for change
Political Editor Liam Thorp reflects on more missed opportunities for justice for the Hillsborough families - who are now pushing to help others avoid their anguish
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
My thoughts on another exhausting and frustrating day for some of the bravest people I’ve ever met
England all out before I wake up 🙄
November 21, 2025 at 6:54 AM
England all out before I wake up 🙄
Reposted by Tom Barrett
This is a new low from a govt plumbing the depths of performative cruelty in hopes that the public won’t notice they have no answers to the real issues facing this country
A sensible, humane govt would focus on safe routes to prevent people making dangerous small boat crossings
A sensible, humane govt would focus on safe routes to prevent people making dangerous small boat crossings
November 17, 2025 at 10:14 AM
This is a new low from a govt plumbing the depths of performative cruelty in hopes that the public won’t notice they have no answers to the real issues facing this country
A sensible, humane govt would focus on safe routes to prevent people making dangerous small boat crossings
A sensible, humane govt would focus on safe routes to prevent people making dangerous small boat crossings
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Labour is enabling Farage’s agenda by trading principles for soundbites.
Rules and controls are necessary - but rules without humanity corrode trust and fuel division.
The measure of a civilised country is not how many people it turns away but how it treats the most vulnerable.
Rules and controls are necessary - but rules without humanity corrode trust and fuel division.
The measure of a civilised country is not how many people it turns away but how it treats the most vulnerable.
November 17, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Labour is enabling Farage’s agenda by trading principles for soundbites.
Rules and controls are necessary - but rules without humanity corrode trust and fuel division.
The measure of a civilised country is not how many people it turns away but how it treats the most vulnerable.
Rules and controls are necessary - but rules without humanity corrode trust and fuel division.
The measure of a civilised country is not how many people it turns away but how it treats the most vulnerable.
Calverley isn't in Pudsey. Sara Cox has another couple of miles down to the roundabout and down Galloway Lane.
November 14, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Calverley isn't in Pudsey. Sara Cox has another couple of miles down to the roundabout and down Galloway Lane.
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Axing the cycle-to-work scheme might seem like low-hanging fruit for a cash-strapped Treasury, but it would be a big mistake. Particularly with expensive kid-carrying cargo e-bikes, it's one of the most effective modal shift levers out there.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Rachel Reeves to cut tax benefits for workers using salary sacrifice schemes to buy bikes
Chancellor expected to introduce new limit on how much can be spent on a bicycle through cycle to work scheme
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Axing the cycle-to-work scheme might seem like low-hanging fruit for a cash-strapped Treasury, but it would be a big mistake. Particularly with expensive kid-carrying cargo e-bikes, it's one of the most effective modal shift levers out there.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Weirdly inspired by this.
How many Lidls are there in London?
Cycling UK member Catriona knows, after visiting all 194 by cycling 550km in six days.
🗣️ “There was joy in exploring the contrasting roads across the city... and the Woolwich Ferry crossing was a delight.”
Read her story: cyclinguk.org/lidl-adventure
Cycling UK member Catriona knows, after visiting all 194 by cycling 550km in six days.
🗣️ “There was joy in exploring the contrasting roads across the city... and the Woolwich Ferry crossing was a delight.”
Read her story: cyclinguk.org/lidl-adventure
November 8, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Weirdly inspired by this.
He was barely 8 years old at the end of the 1980s.
Jenrick casting 1980s British football hooliganism as something that was easily dealt with by police and not an era defining issue which we're still living with the consequences of today... He's genuinely the most unserious person in British politics rn
October 17, 2025 at 7:55 PM
He was barely 8 years old at the end of the 1980s.
I have absolutely zero faith that this will end will.
RFL close to selling stake in expanded Super League to private equity
RFL close to selling stake in expanded Super League to private equity
*
Advanced talks in train after NRL interest waned
*
US-based LionCap Global among key suitors
The Rugby Football League is in advanced talks with several private equity firms about selling a stake in Super League.
The Guardian has learned that the RFL has had multiple offers from funds interested in buying into the competition after the collapse of a proposed investment in Super League from Australia’s National Rugby League. Continue reading...
dlvr.it
October 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I have absolutely zero faith that this will end will.
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Just went to Westhoughton, and if I could give you a snapshot of the UK at this moment in history in this small Greater Manchester town there was an Italian restaurant next door to a Turkish Barbers next to a Thai Massage place and a Union Flag hanging from the window of the flat above them.
October 1, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Just went to Westhoughton, and if I could give you a snapshot of the UK at this moment in history in this small Greater Manchester town there was an Italian restaurant next door to a Turkish Barbers next to a Thai Massage place and a Union Flag hanging from the window of the flat above them.
You've dropped your Brit card
September 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
You've dropped your Brit card
Reposted by Tom Barrett
The UK suffers from a finance curse. Far from being our economic jewel, the City of London has drained trillions from the economy. That’s lost jobs, lost investment, and a weaker democracy. In this video, I explain why finance is making Britain poorer, and what must change. youtu.be/Ssa_4TqpxVg?...
The finance curse: how the City is destroying Britain
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
September 23, 2025 at 6:05 AM
The UK suffers from a finance curse. Far from being our economic jewel, the City of London has drained trillions from the economy. That’s lost jobs, lost investment, and a weaker democracy. In this video, I explain why finance is making Britain poorer, and what must change. youtu.be/Ssa_4TqpxVg?...
Reposted by Tom Barrett
What on Earth is this? An "in depth" BBC article about free speech in the UK that only cites examples of right-wing/ 'anti-woke' speech being suppressed. How can you mention Lucy Connolly but completely ignore Palestine Action / Just Stop Oil? Gob-smacking. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How the simmering UK freedom of speech row reached boiling point
How did we reach a point where the UK is being compared to a 'tin pot Third World dictatorship'?
www.bbc.co.uk
September 23, 2025 at 9:11 AM
What on Earth is this? An "in depth" BBC article about free speech in the UK that only cites examples of right-wing/ 'anti-woke' speech being suppressed. How can you mention Lucy Connolly but completely ignore Palestine Action / Just Stop Oil? Gob-smacking. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Will Your Party last as long as Change UK?
September 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Will Your Party last as long as Change UK?
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Almost 900 fewer people have been injured on Welsh roads since the default speed limit was lowered from 30 to 20mph two years ago
Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979
👏 Evidence-led policy
Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979
👏 Evidence-led policy
Nearly 900 fewer people injured since 20mph introduction in Wales
Figures show a 25% reduction in the number of injuries on Wales' roads in the past 18 months.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 17, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Almost 900 fewer people have been injured on Welsh roads since the default speed limit was lowered from 30 to 20mph two years ago
Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979
👏 Evidence-led policy
Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979
👏 Evidence-led policy
What a mouthful that name is. And 2 Ws is bad for an acronym too.
Sustrans Changes Name To Walk Wheel Cycle Trust www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...
Sustrans Changes Name To Walk Wheel Cycle Trust
Name change better reflects what Sustrans does.
www.forbes.com
September 3, 2025 at 10:59 AM
What a mouthful that name is. And 2 Ws is bad for an acronym too.
Reposted by Tom Barrett
If I’m being honest, I’m feeling pretty crap about my small business.
It’s so bloody difficult at the moment with rising costs, US tariffs, Brexit nonsense and the threat of AI.
Please have a look at what I do and repost to spread the word gailmyerscough.co.uk
It’s so bloody difficult at the moment with rising costs, US tariffs, Brexit nonsense and the threat of AI.
Please have a look at what I do and repost to spread the word gailmyerscough.co.uk
September 2, 2025 at 5:45 PM
If I’m being honest, I’m feeling pretty crap about my small business.
It’s so bloody difficult at the moment with rising costs, US tariffs, Brexit nonsense and the threat of AI.
Please have a look at what I do and repost to spread the word gailmyerscough.co.uk
It’s so bloody difficult at the moment with rising costs, US tariffs, Brexit nonsense and the threat of AI.
Please have a look at what I do and repost to spread the word gailmyerscough.co.uk
When did people stop calling their living room furniture 'a suite'? Mid 90s?
September 1, 2025 at 5:35 PM
When did people stop calling their living room furniture 'a suite'? Mid 90s?
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Off hibernating, I'll si'thee
During the next week, many of us will experience our last 8pm sunset until next April.
It has already happened for some southern and eastern parts of England!
We've been losing 3-5 minutes of daylight per day through August.
It has already happened for some southern and eastern parts of England!
We've been losing 3-5 minutes of daylight per day through August.
August 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Off hibernating, I'll si'thee
Reposted by Tom Barrett
Walk anywhere in Amsterdam and you’ll sense a calm coherence: bricks, curbs, fixtures, benches, bollards and drains that look related. This isn’t accidental. It’s a product of the Puccini Method, the city’s standards—part design language, part technical playbook—for shaping every street and square.🧵
August 22, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Walk anywhere in Amsterdam and you’ll sense a calm coherence: bricks, curbs, fixtures, benches, bollards and drains that look related. This isn’t accidental. It’s a product of the Puccini Method, the city’s standards—part design language, part technical playbook—for shaping every street and square.🧵