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Join us at New College, Oxford
The 54th Oxford Conference
A little less consultation, a little more action please
The planning system continues to face mounting pressure to move beyond consultation, policy drafting and process towards delivery, implementation and investment. Against a backdrop of housing need, infrastructure constraints, economic uncertainty and continuing reform of the planning system, this year’s conference title – A little less consultation, a little more action please – reflects the growing call for clearer decisions, practical solutions and tangible outcomes.
The conference will explore how planning, infrastructure and development can be delivered more effectively in a rapidly changing environment. Alex Notay will open the conference with Planning with the Market in Mind, examining the relationship between planning, investment and delivery. Tom Carpen will provide a critical reflection on planning for water infrastructure and future supply challenges, while Sophie White will consider how successful regeneration and placemaking can be delivered through partnership working.
David Bird will explore vision-led transport and its implications for development and place-making, and Roy Pinnock will examine how Special Development Orders and other alternative routes to consent can help deliver schemes at scale and at pace. Zack Simons KC will consider why national planning policy often fails to achieve its objectives – and how it might work better in practice – followed by the ever-popular legal update from Isabella Tafur KC.
The conference papers and discussions will provide practical and technical insight to support day-to-day work across:
- National planning policy and reform
- Infrastructure planning and delivery
- Water infrastructure and future supply
- Regeneration and partnership delivery
- Transport and place-making
- Consenting routes for major development
- Development orders and alternative delivery models
- Legal update and recent case law
Following last year’s sell-out conference, we strongly advise early booking and taking advantage of the discounted early bird fee.
Learn
Listen to original, in-depth presentations by our industry’s leading thinkers, based on research papers specifically prepared for JPLC delegates and their practices. All delegates attend one programme, and there is plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.
See all speakers
Network
Grow your network, catch up with friends and peers, and reconnect with former colleagues. Enjoy lively and constructive debate with professionals from all walks of the planning world - including invited guests from MHCLG, the Planning Inspectorate, the Scottish Government, PACNI, DAERA, the Welsh Government and other Government organisations.
Arrival, registration, and tea
Newcomer’s welcome tea with organising committee
Drinks reception
Enjoy
Take advantage of our fantastic venue, with ensuite accommodation in 14th-century New College and talks at the nearby Rhodes House conference centre. The programme features drinks receptions, dinners (including a gala dinner on the second evening), and time to explore the city.
Informal dinner
Walking tour of Oxford (Optional)
Sweet & Maxwell Champagne Reception
Cycle
JPLC Networking Cycle Ride: Reading via the Chilterns to Oxford
Calling all cyclist attendees: JPLC invite you to join a friendly networking cycle ride on Friday 18 September, starting in Reading at 11am. The route takes us over the Chilterns on quiet country roads for a relaxed 50–60km ride, paced to suit the group, with a leisurely lunch stop before finishing in Oxford at New College Gardens by 4pm. A support van and luggage transfer will accompany the ride, with an option for bicycle return to London. Further details can be found below.
Register your interestExpert speakers for 2026
Expert speakers for 2026
Rob Rinder MBE
Rob Rinder MBE Rob Rinder MBE is a barrister turned broadcaster and Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author. His broadcast career began with ITV’s huge daytime hit Judge Rinder, which he presided over for an amazing seven series. Rob’s episode of the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are won a BAFTA and his subsequent documentary series My Family, the Holocaust and Me and The Holy Land and Us aired to critical acclaim. In 2020 Rob was awarded an MBE for his services to Holocaust education and an honorary doctorate for his legal work. In 2024 he received a Doctor of Literature from University College London for writing, teaching and advocacy in social equality and Holocaust education. He is a member of 2 Hare Court Chambers and his practice focuses primarily on international fraud, money laundering, and other forms of financial crime. He also advises on and appears in cases involving regulatory allegations against businesses and their directors and officers. He is also increasingly instructed, predominantly for the defence, as sole or leading counsel in cases involving allegations of serious and complex crime across the full spectrum of offences. Rob is president of Orion Orchestra, a role which combines his passion for music with nurturing the next generation of the UK’s best young musicians. He is a regular host on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and co-hosts Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby and Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour for BBC Two. In 2024 Rob also presented Channel 4’s Britain Behind Bars: A Secret History and The Princes in The Tower: The New Evidence. Rob’s Sunday Times No.1 bestselling novel The Trial and the subsequent The Suspect are inspired by his experiences as a barrister. 2025 will see Rob’s third novel The Protest being published, a follow up series: Rob & Rylan: A Passage To India for the BBC as well as a new, yet to be announced series for Channel Five.
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Support the conference and raise your profile by becoming an Official Sponsor.
Your sponsorship can support other professionals who might otherwise be unable to attend the Conference. Find out more about our Next Gen and Local Authority sponsorship packages.
Six decades in the heart of Oxford
The JPLC – popularly known as “The Oxford Conference” – has been taking place since 1973. Created by a group of luminaries that included Sir Frank Layfield KC, it’s now the longest-running, and best-known, conference for the UK planning sector.
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