Planning Inspectorate Newsletter - Issue 7
Stephen Crow - Chief Planning Inspector 1988 - 1994 
Stephen was a towering presence – both physically and figuratively. He was tall – and made to seem even more so by the bowlers and other assorted headgear which he wore. But he impressed even more with his intellect, his breadth of knowledge (much of it on obscure but fascinating subjects), his memory, his eye for detail, and his commitment to his chosen profession.
Briefly, the facts. He was born in 1934, was educated at Leek High School , William Ellis School, and Cambridge, and married to Margaret in 1958 (he leaves three children). He worked at Southport, Lancashire County Council and then Hertfordshire County Council, and he joined the Inspectorate in 1976. He did pretty much everything in PINS, rising of course to Chief Planning Inspector from 1988-94. He continued to have a wildly successful career thereafter – his seminal and controversial report on the South East Plan in 1999 and his more recent (and also controversial) report on casinos being just the highlights. The Panel report on the East Midlands RSS EiP, which he Chaired, was published only a week or so before he died. And he put much time and effort into his role as Honorary Professor of Planning Practice and Policy at Cardiff University. He wrote admired pieces for the JPL and other publications. He was particularly expert on the legal issues surrounding planning, and particularly the appeal system (in England and Wales and beyond).
These bare facts do not do justice to the man. I knew him in the seventies when he was at Lancashire and I was in Manchester. I didn’t remember all the people I met at that time – but I certainly remembered Stephen. He stood out from the crowd. We had some lively arguments (he liked an argument), but always constructively; there was never any malice. Our paths parted but we met again through our involvement with PINS. He was deeply committed to the organisation. He believed in its professionalism, its rigour, its independence, its impartiality. He believed that people should be able to engage with the planning process in a structured but fair and unimpeded way, and that PINS provided this opportunity with a quality and diligence which few, if any, others could ever match. He fought for these things, rightly of course, and PINS to this day is the stronger for it. We spoke about it shortly before he died; he was concerned that the reputation and integrity of PINS should not be weakened by any of the Government’s current proposals.
He had his “hinterland” too. He knew more about trains and buses than was probably appropriate; he spoke several languages (including some Welsh), and travelled to exotic places, bringing back a wealth of extraordinary stories. He was fond of music, liked the odd drink, and loved his family and his charming house in a rural setting close to the centre of Bath.
He made a huge contribution to planning and to PINS. I shall miss him – for his humour, his directness, his endearing cantankerousness, his knowledge, his compassion and his friendship. We have lost a great advocate for the things in which we all believe. There are many in PINS who will remember him with similar affection and who will miss him as I will.
Chris Shepley
