Mary Elkington πππΊπ¦
@maryindevon.bsky.social
Town Planner and Geographer (MRTPI). Used to work at NASA - planning IS harder than rocket science. We can do better.
Pinned
Redit discussion on flag shagging neighbours impacting house sale/price is very very lively
100s comments, fairly unanimous that England Flag Flyers are a red flag
'Course flag flyers may be flying to discourage anyone other than right wing (other than white) buying in as neighbours?
100s comments, fairly unanimous that England Flag Flyers are a red flag
'Course flag flyers may be flying to discourage anyone other than right wing (other than white) buying in as neighbours?
"Suggesting that we can just get rid of leasehold overnight is the kind of irresponsible thinking that even Liz Truss would wag a finger at"
via @alextoal.bsky.social
housingalex.substack.com/p/why-zack-p...
via @alextoal.bsky.social
housingalex.substack.com/p/why-zack-p...
Why Zack Polanski is wrong to call for leasehold abolition
And some wins which campaigners could actually push for in the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
housingalex.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:42 AM
"Suggesting that we can just get rid of leasehold overnight is the kind of irresponsible thinking that even Liz Truss would wag a finger at"
via @alextoal.bsky.social
housingalex.substack.com/p/why-zack-p...
via @alextoal.bsky.social
housingalex.substack.com/p/why-zack-p...
Yes, got that. Perhaps I was being too subtle about my view on leading with "Decemeber way down on November" as the headline tweet π
February 4, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Yes, got that. Perhaps I was being too subtle about my view on leading with "Decemeber way down on November" as the headline tweet π
How does this compare to "typical" seasonality reporting - what is the average fall in deliveries between november and december of each of the past few years? How often does December outperform November?
Not saying the sentiment is wrong; just feels like brutal headline rather than data
Not saying the sentiment is wrong; just feels like brutal headline rather than data
February 4, 2026 at 9:57 AM
How does this compare to "typical" seasonality reporting - what is the average fall in deliveries between november and december of each of the past few years? How often does December outperform November?
Not saying the sentiment is wrong; just feels like brutal headline rather than data
Not saying the sentiment is wrong; just feels like brutal headline rather than data
It's the right wing coup playbook in action - flood the zone, create breakdown of structure of law and society, and you've made a crises that you can use to introduce totalitarianism
π
π
February 4, 2026 at 9:51 AM
It's the right wing coup playbook in action - flood the zone, create breakdown of structure of law and society, and you've made a crises that you can use to introduce totalitarianism
π
π
Tech Bros are Maslow's Heirarchy of Greed
The haematological consultancy called Maslow's Hierarchy of Bleeds.
The land registry office thatβs called Maslowβs hierarchy of deeds
February 4, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Tech Bros are Maslow's Heirarchy of Greed
Reposted by Mary Elkington πππΊπ¦
Can you share this video about why banning teenagers off social media wonβt work and why it is really about us all handing more personal information to tech corporations? www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTX9...
SiobhΓ‘n shares why banning teenagers from using Social media won't work!
YouTube video by Uplift Ireland
www.youtube.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Can you share this video about why banning teenagers off social media wonβt work and why it is really about us all handing more personal information to tech corporations? www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTX9...
Not sure I agree with the headline here -
interesting stat "half the people who bought with Tory Help to Buy scam & subsequently sold have sold for a loss" (wld like source for that)
Not surprising; new builds do not appreciate in value like resale market.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
interesting stat "half the people who bought with Tory Help to Buy scam & subsequently sold have sold for a loss" (wld like source for that)
Not surprising; new builds do not appreciate in value like resale market.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
Reality Check
Business News Podcast Β· Updated weekly Β· Reality Check cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectatorβs economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-kno...
podcasts.apple.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Not sure I agree with the headline here -
interesting stat "half the people who bought with Tory Help to Buy scam & subsequently sold have sold for a loss" (wld like source for that)
Not surprising; new builds do not appreciate in value like resale market.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
interesting stat "half the people who bought with Tory Help to Buy scam & subsequently sold have sold for a loss" (wld like source for that)
Not surprising; new builds do not appreciate in value like resale market.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
Reposted by Mary Elkington πππΊπ¦
Not the first time I have seen publicly funded institutions wasting prodigious Β£s (here Β£500k!) lobbying against sustainable transport projects www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambrid...
College spends 'shocking' Β£500k on objections to C2C busway
A resident who requested a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on the college's spending said he found the total amount to be 'unbelievable'
www.cambridge-news.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Not the first time I have seen publicly funded institutions wasting prodigious Β£s (here Β£500k!) lobbying against sustainable transport projects www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambrid...
SCRAPP and SHOCK
No confidence, cause planners plan for more than just our club wanting no changes (but always wanting more 'infrastructure')
New homes drive a younger demographic. Rural areas losing schools and services. Hmmm?
www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/2581769...
No confidence, cause planners plan for more than just our club wanting no changes (but always wanting more 'infrastructure')
New homes drive a younger demographic. Rural areas losing schools and services. Hmmm?
www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/2581769...
Residents express 'no confidence' in Somerset Council's planning decisions
Somerset Communities Raging Against Poor Planning (SCRAPP)'s inaugural meeting brought together 50 representatives from 22 different areas
www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 9:21 AM
SCRAPP and SHOCK
No confidence, cause planners plan for more than just our club wanting no changes (but always wanting more 'infrastructure')
New homes drive a younger demographic. Rural areas losing schools and services. Hmmm?
www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/2581769...
No confidence, cause planners plan for more than just our club wanting no changes (but always wanting more 'infrastructure')
New homes drive a younger demographic. Rural areas losing schools and services. Hmmm?
www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/2581769...
Tolkien to the Taxman about Poetry
(Billy Bragg's best album IMO)
(Billy Bragg's best album IMO)
Everybodyβs Tolkien, obviously
Is there a podcast for Lord of the Rings fans called Tolkien Heads? I for one wouldn't listen to it, because it would be fucking insufferable, but still. Tolkien Heads.π₯
February 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Tolkien to the Taxman about Poetry
(Billy Bragg's best album IMO)
(Billy Bragg's best album IMO)
"Choice" Like when developers tell me people LIKE postage stamp astroturf behind close boarded fences because they "CHOOSE to buy" then only thing on offer.
Amen to your redevelopment comment - but in England any kind of shit stays propped up cause we don't build enough houses
Amen to your redevelopment comment - but in England any kind of shit stays propped up cause we don't build enough houses
February 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM
"Choice" Like when developers tell me people LIKE postage stamp astroturf behind close boarded fences because they "CHOOSE to buy" then only thing on offer.
Amen to your redevelopment comment - but in England any kind of shit stays propped up cause we don't build enough houses
Amen to your redevelopment comment - but in England any kind of shit stays propped up cause we don't build enough houses
Something else the media (which feels increasingly right leaning in what it reports) isn't talking about, amidst the "labour is adrift" narrative the talking heads keep telling themselves:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
A National Plan to End Homelessness
www.gov.uk
February 2, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Something else the media (which feels increasingly right leaning in what it reports) isn't talking about, amidst the "labour is adrift" narrative the talking heads keep telling themselves:
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Peak Torygraph
February 1, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Peak Torygraph
Also rich Tories, many of whom may pay 5 figure tuition for 8 year olds, haven't dealt with SFE, or may have simply paid off their kids' student loans sou then never see the problem
February 1, 2026 at 8:43 AM
Also rich Tories, many of whom may pay 5 figure tuition for 8 year olds, haven't dealt with SFE, or may have simply paid off their kids' student loans sou then never see the problem
Another reason to not travel to USA - that casual camera snap at immigration may come back to bite you
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by nameβciting facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Another reason to not travel to USA - that casual camera snap at immigration may come back to bite you
Fun game - do another one!
January 30, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Fun game - do another one!
Reposted by Mary Elkington πππΊπ¦
Half of all rail journeys that Great British Railways will ultimately be responsible for will be on services run by publicly owned operators from Sunday, as London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services join the fast-growing family of operators "owned by the public for the public."
London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services return to public ownership
Services to return to public ownership this Sunday, bringing the country one step closer to a simpler, unified rail system under Great British Railways.Β
More than 8,500 publicly owned rail services...
dft-newsroom.prgloo.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Half of all rail journeys that Great British Railways will ultimately be responsible for will be on services run by publicly owned operators from Sunday, as London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services join the fast-growing family of operators "owned by the public for the public."
No door mats - hotel
January 30, 2026 at 3:18 PM
No door mats - hotel
*policy, not policing!!
January 30, 2026 at 3:08 PM
*policy, not policing!!
That's an unfair and inaccurate statement
They've had a huge legislative and policing programme and in one you're have rejected renters rights, employee rights, undid Tory/coalition damage to social housing, renewables support...
Pudding people off is evidence that they are cracking on with things
They've had a huge legislative and policing programme and in one you're have rejected renters rights, employee rights, undid Tory/coalition damage to social housing, renewables support...
Pudding people off is evidence that they are cracking on with things
January 30, 2026 at 3:07 PM
That's an unfair and inaccurate statement
They've had a huge legislative and policing programme and in one you're have rejected renters rights, employee rights, undid Tory/coalition damage to social housing, renewables support...
Pudding people off is evidence that they are cracking on with things
They've had a huge legislative and policing programme and in one you're have rejected renters rights, employee rights, undid Tory/coalition damage to social housing, renewables support...
Pudding people off is evidence that they are cracking on with things
Reposted by Mary Elkington πππΊπ¦
Just discovered this most amazing tool: Antirender!
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
January 30, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Just discovered this most amazing tool: Antirender!
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
"might make failures more easy to bear if on the original models, instead of lots of pretty little trees and a tiny motor car, they placed models of hundreds of cars, three dead trees, a little discarded supermarket trolly, some model dog turds and plenty of damp."
January 30, 2026 at 9:35 AM
"might make failures more easy to bear if on the original models, instead of lots of pretty little trees and a tiny motor car, they placed models of hundreds of cars, three dead trees, a little discarded supermarket trolly, some model dog turds and plenty of damp."
Just discovered this most amazing tool: Antirender!
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
January 30, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Just discovered this most amazing tool: Antirender!
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
antirender.com
Also gives me a chance to share an all-time fave passage from a book - courtesy Ben Elton Gridlock (its alt texted, but best bit β¬οΈ)
#architecture #urbanism #planning
You left off CORRUPT. Corrupt, dying, demented, sex offender.
January 30, 2026 at 8:27 AM
You left off CORRUPT. Corrupt, dying, demented, sex offender.
Council reorganisation and elections
Essex goes ahead
I'm calling it now for reform
(course ppl voting reform don't want grown up governance - just happy to spaff stretched public purse on posturing jingoism)
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697b37...
Essex goes ahead
I'm calling it now for reform
(course ppl voting reform don't want grown up governance - just happy to spaff stretched public purse on posturing jingoism)
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697b37...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
January 30, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Council reorganisation and elections
Essex goes ahead
I'm calling it now for reform
(course ppl voting reform don't want grown up governance - just happy to spaff stretched public purse on posturing jingoism)
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697b37...
Essex goes ahead
I'm calling it now for reform
(course ppl voting reform don't want grown up governance - just happy to spaff stretched public purse on posturing jingoism)
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697b37...