Our country needs to build more. More houses are required to meet current and rising demand. High streets and town centres need regeneration. Our infrastructure is not keeping pace with the structural requirements of our economy and society.

In this podcast, we delve into new research arguing that the key to unlocking our fraught planning system is to give communities more power and influence to shape local development. What can the councils and the government do to make this happen in time to fulfil Labour's housebuilding goals?

Join New Local's Imran Hashmi and Katy Oglethorpe in conversation, along with appearances from some of the case studies featured in the research - people-led regeneration of empty houses in Grimsby, the UK's first housing co-op for women aged over 50, and the district council giving residents a blank sheet for regeneration. We also speak to Zo Hoida, whose law firm Browne Jacobson supported the research.

As the NHS faces ever-rising demand, its founding principles of being free and universal are under threat.

In our latest report, we propose a solution: a fundamental shift towards a healthcare system focused as much on preventing illness as treating it. Working collaboratively with communities as equal partners in the design and delivery of healthcare.

Report authors Adam Lent and Grace Pollard are interviewed by Katy Oglethorpe about the report's key ideas. And we hear from the people behind innovative schemes at a GP's surgery in Pimlico, and a HIV charity in Manchester. 

Visit www.newlocal.org.uk/nhs for the full report. 

What would happen if we put power where it belonged, in our communities? 

In The Community Paradigm, New Local's Adam Lent and Jessica Studdert made a case for the radical redistribution of power - away from the state and the market - and towards people themselves. The report helped capture a community power movement, that has been gaining momentum in places and public services within the UK. 

Two years on, Adam and Jess introduce a new preface for the Paradigm - reflecting on new context created by the Covid pandemic, and the increased urgency to create sustainable, fairer services. 

The podcast features an interview with the brilliant Mark Pepper - who is at the heart of the community-led regeneration of a Bristol estate.

You can read the updated Community Paradigm report and watch our new animation at www.newlocal.org.uk/communitypower

Music by Aardem