Documentary series lifting the lid on the decisions behind planning approvals and refusals, telling the story through the eyes, ears and drawings of the planners themselves. These are the people who interpret the rules, evaluate the proposals and make the recommendations, making homeowners’ dreams come true or bringing them crashing down.

Episode 1

In this episode, three national house builders target a greenfield site outside Winsford in Cheshire. They are proposing to build 540 new homes in the area but the locals are not happy and will stop at nothing to derail the development. A Cheltenham couple erect a mock-up of their neighbour’s extension to highlight their concerns to planners. A retired couple that lives in a conservation area in the heart of Chester submit a planning application to erect 17 solar panels onto their garage roof and a Cheltenham resident spends over £10,000 on her planning application for a dropped kerb outside her home.

 

Episode 2

A planning application to erect a chicken shed to house 169,000 chickens in the Scottish Borders faces huge local objection. A Cheshire enforcement officer takes drastic action against a homeowner who has been dumping rubbish in his garden for over 20 years. In Gloucestershire, residents fight a proposal to build new homes on an ancient field in the heart of their Cotswold village. And a young family’s dream to build a modern house in a conservation area hangs in the balance.

 

 

Episode 3

A Cheshire businessman on the brink of financial ruin is hoping that his fourth attempt to get planning permission to build 31 new houses will finally get the go ahead. Rochdale’s Shia Muslims clash with the planners over the design of the extension to their local community centre. Two residents go head-to-head over the erection of a two-foot fence on an open plan estate in Cheltenham. And in Stroud, a wife defends her husband’s right to build a large shed to house his beloved trucks.

 

 

Episode 4

Chester residents object to a controversial modern redevelopment of the city’s iconic Leadworks. The owner of Elmore Court, a grand estate in Stroud, submits a planning application to build a wedding venue in the grounds hoping it will secure the future of the home that has been in his family for 750 years. An enforcement officer takes action against two Cheshire homeowners who have breached planning laws. And in the Scottish Borders a property developer wants to build two modern homes in his back garden but comes up against strong opposition.

 

 

Episode 5

Cheltenham’s conservation planning officer isn’t impressed with a family’s plans to modernise their listed Regency house.
A developer hopes that his proposal to restore a historic landscape will also enable him to build a contemporary home in open countryside.
Rochdale residents clash with developers who want to build three new homes at the end of their cul-de-sac.
And in Cheshire a local builder wants to bulldoze a 19th-century pub and build a modern replacement.

 

Episode 6

Cheshire West and Chester planning department have to decide whether to grant planning permission for a £30 million island project proposed by Chester Zoo.
Angry residents object to Edinburgh University’s plans to build a seven-storey building that will provide accommodation for 234 students.
The owner of a grade 2 listed building in Cheshire hopes that he will be granted planning permission to redevelop a former school into flats.
And three major housing developers plan to build over 300 new homes on greenfield sites surrounding Tarporley in Cheshire but locals have rallied against their development.

 

 

Episode 7

In this episode of The Planners, Cheshire villagers strongly object to the proposal to build a crematorium outside their village.
Two Rochdale-based entrepreneurs hope that a lack of quality tourist accommodation will be a good enough reason to build four log cabins on greenbelt.
A Cheltenham hotelier forms an action group to fight a developer’s proposal to build new houses on land that is inhabited by badgers.
And in Cheshire, a 70-year-old homeowner faces financial ruin and the possibility that he will lose his home because of a breach of planning law.

to watch online

 

Episode 8

Gloucestershire residents rally against the proposal to build four wind turbines in the Stroud Vale. An Edinburgh café owner faces strong objection to his plan to double the size of his premises. In Cheltenham, a tenant farmer faces the possibility of being thrown off his farm if the owner of the land, the local council, gets planning permission to build over 300 new homes. And a retrospective planning application for steps to access a raised garden receives objections from neighbours.

to watch online