Mark and Jonathan Collins continue their conversation into the intricacies of UK infrastructure, planning systems, and local government challenges. They discuss the complexities of planning permission, energy and local council operations. Collins shares expertise from his experience in local government and his current role as a planning consultant, making this episode essential listening for developers, property investors, and anyone interested in UK infrastructure development and local politics.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The planning system is too complex, projects that should be simple often get bogged down with unnecessary requirements and delays. Most council money goes to social care, leaving little for other important services like planning and development. Extra rules and taxes on landlords have led to fewer rental properties and higher rents for tenants. The UK's energy pricing makes no sense, we pay the highest possible price even when cheaper energy is available. Getting planning permission takes too long because councils don't have enough staff and the process is overly complicated. Infrastructure projects in the UK often cost far more than in other countries because we try to make everything perfect rather than practical. Local politics has become less cooperative over time, making it harder to get things done that everyone actually agrees need doing.   BEST MOMENTS   "The whole thing is bonkers and if the market means anything, surely it should mean that me as an electricity purchaser can go to a solar person and say, I'll have your electricity." "When you sit down and you talk to people, most people will agree what the challenges are and some of the ways forward by way of solutions." "Infrastructure projects suffer because they're over-engineered and gold-plated, which means they run out of money before completion.” "Local democracy is great, but we've all voted in a national election and if the government is saying it's infrastructure and growth, sorry guys, but we're going to have to constrain your local ability to say no." "The nature of our politics has got worse... there's an inability to actually listen and to debate and to understand and to compromise."   VALUABLE RESOURCES  https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/   ABOUT THE HOST Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties.   CONTACT METHOD Email: Markhomer@progressiveproperty.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive ‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/