Sarah Chilcott on Digital Planning, Leadership and the Most Overused Word “AI” | Deadlines & Detours

In this episode of Deadlines & Detours, I sit down with Sarah Chilcott, former Managing Director of the UK’s national Planning Portal — the service that helped standardise applications across England and Wales and scaled to around 50,000 submissions a month.

Sarah talks candidly about the multi-year transition from a government unit to a commercial joint venture, moving from central funding to commercial revenue, and why pace, people and values mattered more than any single piece of technology. We also cover housing and sustainability work, biodiversity net gain, and practical ways leaders can drive change without excluding users.

What we discuss:

• The inside story of the Planning Portal and the shift to a JV

• What worked (and didn’t) in digital planning

• Pace in government vs. private sector and how to manage it

• Data, payments and service design lessons

• Housing, sustainability and biodiversity net gain in practice

• Change management (Kotter), culture and leadership habits

• Why “AI” is often the most overused word in tech

• The “five frogs on a log” test for moving from intent to action

Links:

• hgkc — Sarah’s leadership and growth advisory work: https://hgkc.co.uk

• UK Business Council for Sustainable Development: https://ukbcsd.co.uk

• Bristol Housing Festival: https://bristolhousingfestival.org.uk

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