Come to the seaside; help us put Blackpool back on top!

Blackpool really is unique, where else could you possibly find…

• A £2billion+ growth and prosperity programme including the £300m transformative Blackpool Central leisure development; the £220m scheme to establish Talbot Gateway , a multi-phase town centre commercial hub; a 144 hectare Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone to deliver 5,000 new jobs; the biggest Town Deal Programme in the country with £40.5m towards 7 schemes; several hotel schemes to complement the newly opened  Winter Gardens Conference and Exhibition Centre; and £40m of Levelling Up Fund scheme to transform our educational offer with The Multiversity
• Levels of deprivation that sadly top the national charts presenting a huge challenge both to improve the quality of life for our residents, but also balance the needs of the resort with those of our communities
• Unitary administration bringing together the functions of planning, highway management, public protection, social care, education and health to enable a truly holistic approach to development and regeneration
• A legacy of historic development and a social and built profile that raises questions of planning law sufficient to really test your grey matter!
• Unique heritage with 7 Conservation Areas, 46 Listed Buildings (including roller coasters, one of our three piers and, of course, our iconic Blackpool Tower!) and 271 Locally Listed Buildings
• A population of over 140,000 packed into a borough of less than 35 square kilometres! Blackpool is an incredibly compact urban authority and our lack of open space for new development to meet future needs demands innovative strategic planning
• A diverse offering of green infrastructure; Blackpool is sandwiched between two Special Protection Areas and includes a SSSI, 7 miles of glorious coastline and one of the biggest municipal parks in the country
• Fantastic location by the beach but right on the motorway network just an hour from Manchester, Liverpool, the Lake District National Park and the Trough of Bowland
• And we have the nation’s favourite theme park, the world famous Pleasure Beach!

Whether you are a Policy or Development Management planner, you will be joining an incredibly passionate team of local people committed to addressing the challenges that Blackpool poses, and firmly re-establishing it as the country’s premier holiday destination.

In the Planning Strategy team, you will be involved in driving forward the future of Blackpool as the new Blackpool Local plan is at the early stage of development. You will have a key role to play in shaping and influencing this new plan to ensure sustainable high quality development that promotes the resort, enhances our communities, protects the vulnerable and changes the face of our town for the better.

In the Development Management team, dealing with predominantly major scale and complex minor applications, you will contribute directly towards resort regeneration. Through your effective negotiation skills, you will deliver sustainable, high-quality development that safeguards our most vulnerable, enhances our communities and changes the face of our town for the better.

We appreciate that you might not be local, and that you might not be in a position to relocate, but the world has changed a lot since the pandemic and we have learned new ways of working. If you are the right candidate for Blackpool, we would love to hear from you to explore options of hybrid working.

We are currently looking for three senior planners; two to join our Planning Policy team and one to join our Development Management team; working 37 hours a week on a salary of £34,728 to £38,890. Please click here to view our detailed job description and person specification and to apply. Blackpool Council is an equal opportunities employer.

If you would like to discuss any of these exciting opportunities in more detail, please call:

Head of Planning Policy – Jane Saleh on 07827 880570

Head of Development Management – Susan Parker on 01253 476228.