Blackridge Planning
Insight

Planning from the
inside out

Henry Higgins writes on planning reform, infrastructure, and the practical realities of how the planning system works — drawing on 15+ years of direct experience determining applications as former Chairman of Planning in the London Borough of Hillingdon. His analysis has been published on ConservativeHome and cited in the House of Commons.

Planning ReformInfrastructurePractical Guidance

Planning Reform

Analysis of how England's planning system works, where it fails, and what genuine reform would look like — written by someone who has operated inside it for nearly two decades.

Infrastructure

Commentary on major infrastructure decisions, the planning challenges they create, and how the system handles — or mishandles — projects of national significance.

Practical Guidance

Straightforward advice on how the planning system actually works in practice: what committees look for, how applications succeed or fail, and what applicants need to understand.

Published Analysis

Henry's writing on ConservativeHome

Both articles draw on Henry's direct experience as a planning committee chair. The first has been cited in the House of Commons.

Planning Reform

How to fix London's broken planning system

London has the space to build over 460,000 homes on brownfield sites — yet targets are rarely achieved. Henry sets out the practical reasons why: unworkable consent conditions, dysfunctional relationships between borough, mayoral, and central government, and policies that actively disincentivise developers. A detailed programme for reform, published February 2026.

This article was cited in the House of Commons — one of a small number of pieces of planning analysis to receive that recognition.

Read on ConservativeHome

Infrastructure

How can we get infrastructure projects unblocked?

Major infrastructure projects in England face planning delays that are not inevitable — they are the product of a system that was not designed for decisions of this scale. Henry examines the specific failures and what a more effective approach would look like, drawing on direct experience of Heathrow and HS2 decisions. Published April 2026.

Read on ConservativeHome

Cited in the House of Commons

Henry's analysis of London's planning system was cited in the House of Commons — establishing him as a credible public voice on planning reform and giving his work a reach beyond the committee room.

Read on ConservativeHome
Work With Henry

The same insight, applied to your application

The perspective behind these articles is the same perspective Henry brings to every client engagement. If you have a planning application, appeal, or expert witness instruction, get in touch.

Get in TouchAbout Henry