Recently in Recession Category

Happy New Year everyone! I seriously don't think it can possibly be any worse than last year.

Close observers will be aware that for the last few months, like all of us, I guess, I've been grappling with trying to get some perspective on what is happening and how we might respond.

It is clear that 2010 will be a year where we will all have to make some tough choices when the landscape is shifting in front of us in quite a dramatic way.

A General Election in either March or May will focus our minds and I'm looking forward to what I hope will be an honest and frank debate where the options are set out clearly.

I hope that the televised election debates with (some of the) party leaders will stimulate that debate nationally and that we get a substantial turnout and a new government with a real mandate to drive through much-needed transformation.

Whew, that's a relief then! According to Mike Hayes we're all on the same page in urging stability: "Change the policies; but not the process and let the IPC, HCA and LDF's find their feet."

I genuinely did sleep a bit better last night as a result of his response (when one gets through life relying so much on instinct and emotional intelligence, it is indeed a huge validation to be told that the boffins are in agreement with your analysis) and my New Best Friend, Leonora Rozee (another Big Banana at RTPI and - until recently - senior gal at the Planning Inspectorate) can write any time.

I've already nicked her "It has never been more important to have a robust, effective and confident planning system than now when we face national and global economic, social and environmental challenges on an epic scale. Planners need to step up to the plate and demonstrate their willingness to make the systems we have been given work" for a speech I'm giving in the new year.

Wonderful stuff from a genuine leader in her field (and sorry, Leonora, no royalties will be forthcoming; this is the blogosphere after all).

A cri de coeur for stability is definitely in vogue in our industry. And another cri de coeur must be to, please, get real.

Recognising the much smaller public purse for regeneration going forward, we will certainly need to forego our preoccupation with scale: much of the Grand Projets type of regeneration seen over the last decade or more is detached from community delivery and benefits.

We drove Kidult to university on Saturday. It was a tough day, physically and emotionally. Sorry, but I still get a bit lachrymose thinking about it!

She nearly didn't have any accommodation to go to, as a few days prior to scheduled departure we discovered that she hadn't posted the confirmation form. Needless to say I almost marmalised her. I was so exasperated, I cannot begin to tell you. I was tempted to get on the phone to Mark Allen at Unite (who I had met at a couple of conferences) and call in a favour, but I'm glad I resisted. She had to sort this out herself. 

And, indeed, a combination of Kidult deploying a bit of pester-power on the phone but - in the main - the super brilliant and amazingly sensitive performance of Unite's customer services team in Exeter (these guys clearly well used to the antics of gormless adolescents) pulled it around and we moved her into a lovely room with an en-suite shower (very different from my day I have to say), so very well designed that it even managed to absorb the pantechnicon of clothes and shoes that had been selected for the University Debut (purple high heels, I ask you!). And we left her in high spirits, if a little nervous.

It is surely grim out there. How many colleagues and friends have been impacted by this awful recession? And how many more are there to come?

I have become like a cross between an Agony Aunt and Outplacement Counsellor for dozens of professionals feeling vulnerable and fragile about the future.

And while every story is different - there are some remarkable similarities. People want challenging jobs where they can make a real contribution. They want to be part of an amazing team. They need - at least - a degree of security so that they can feed their bairns. Above all, they are concerned for their reputations - especially those who have been made redundant.

I have heard some hair-raising stories. Particularly from those unfortunates who have had to engage with Job Centre Plus, an inescapable destination for those needing to secure Job Seeker Allowance in order to trigger their mortgage protection policies.

The job centres now have to deal with escalating levels of unemployed people - many of whom have held senior roles or who have very specialist skills and who find themselves in this situation for the first time. It is clear that this vitally important agency just does not have the right resources with the right skills in place to deal with the hugely diverse range of job seekers they now have to deal with.