The Friday Five 03.02.23
It's the Friday Five, our weekly round-up of great planning jobs and compelling, not to say, essential, facts related to the job's location. This week's highlights: a job at the Cabinet Office (ooo!) and the largest cemetery in the UK. Read on...
1. PRINCIPAL DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS OFFICER, LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM
Location: Catford/Hybrid
The job: “Lewisham is undergoing huge transformation with major developments in Catford, Lewisham, Deptford, New Cross and across the borough, award winning schemes, outstanding parks and green spaces, two opportunity areas and the Bakerloo Line extension, the transformation is well underway.
“The principal developer contributions officer will lead on the effective implementation of the council’s multi-million-pound developer contributions programme through CIL and S106 planning obligations. This will include managing the negotiations, collection, monitoring, and distribution of developer contributions to support and maximise the delivery of infrastructure policies and projects in the borough.
“The successful candidate will work within our multidisciplinary strategic planning team to guide change within the borough. The work we have is diverse, exciting, and challenging and you will be working with a friendly team that is dedicated, positive and focussed on quality and high performance.”
Fun fact: Catford – obviously named after cats, right? Actually, it may well have been (though the presumed wild cats fording the river at this place are as likely to have been cattle for the purposes of naming). Regardless, Catfordians have taken their cattishness to their hearts, to the extent that one of the south east London town's most notable landmarks is a huge fibreglass cat sculpture sitting atop the sign for the local shopping centre and playfully pawing at the letter F in Catford.
The Catford Cat, remarkably, was designed by the same architects who were responsible for the nearby Brutalist Eros office block, the shopping centre itself and the Michael Faraday Memorial in Elephant and Castle – Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon. this pair were commissioned by Lewisham Council in the 1960s to modernise Catford centre and they brought their Brutalist sensibility to bear quite extensively. The cat, unveiled in 1974, was a rather more playful touch and nod to the popular origin of the town's name,
It is a mainstay, to the extent that a local petition saved it from removal as part of contemporary regeneration plans and the Catford Cat even has its own Twitter account, on which it has revealed itself to be virulently anti-car. Well, it's a cat – what do you expect?
2. SENIOR PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER, CABINET OFFICE
Location: Glasgow/York/Hybrid
The job: “Do you want a lead role in a programme that is contributing to key government policy including levelling up, economic recovery and helping communities to build back better? Are you a property professional who wants to make a difference? If so, we’re looking for a senior partnerships manager in the One Public Estate programme.
“One Public Estate (OPE) is jointly delivered by the Office of Government Property (OGP) in the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association (LGA). It supports cross-public sector working to deliver ambitious property-led projects that create local economic growth, integrate public services and drive efficiency savings. We take a place-based approach, supporting projects that make a difference for local communities, and we support the delivery of the government estate strategy.
“In this role, you will shape the programme’s regional activity and its engagement across both local and central Government. As a member of the programme’s senior leadership team, you will shape the future of the programme and its role across the government property function. You will join at a key time as the programme looks to bring about policy and system change and strengthen our partnership working across the public sector.
“You will lead the regional activity of the One Public Estate programme. This will include engaging at senior levels with government departments, local authorities, and arms length bodies to agree how we can best work together to support shared national and local priorities; to act as a neutral broker between national and local partners to unlock progress on projects; and support both OPE programme, OGP and government property function priorities.”
Fun fact: Join me for a moment in etymology corner. A leader’s inner circle of advisers has been known as a ‘cabinet’ in England since at least the late sixteenth century, when the phrase ‘cabinet counsel’ to describe advice given in private, began to be used routinely.
Cabinet, in this sense, really does derive from the common meaning of cabinet as a small space – a chamber or private room or even a storage space. In this sense, ‘cabinet’ is not dissimilar from the more formal Privy Council which, along with the Crown, was the only coordinating authority of government until the early 17th century.
Until the establishment of an actual Cabinet Council by Charles I in 1625, there was no coordinated, centralised government in the sense we understand it today.
Over time, this Cabinet became the principal executive decision-making body of government, meeting frequently and privately. Its central figure shifted as politics changed: where once it was the monarch, it became the prime minister, the '‘first among equals’.
The modern Cabinet system as we know it, was set up by David Lloyd George during the First World War. He created a Cabinet Office and committee structures, mandated that minutes be taken (though unpublished) and clarified the relationship between Cabinet ministers and government departments.
Most prime ministers have had a so-called ‘kitchen cabinet’ consisting of their own most trusted advisers who may also be Cabinet members often as not. Is the Cabinet a good tool of governance? Some think not, arguing that it bestows too much power on the prime minister, lacks accountability and is a sign of an ‘elective dictatorship’. Certainly, the origins of its name in privacy and secrecy in small chambers certainly lend the Cabinet an air of conspiracy...
3. SENIOR TOWN PLANNER, SEVERN TRENT WATER LTD
Location: Coventry, West Midlands
The job: “Would you like to support the delivery of new and improved operational assets and get involved in the management of a diverse estate?
“ In this role you will be accountable for:
- advising on permitted development rights and delivering planning consents for the business
- advising colleagues on planning risk and project requirements
- ensuring planning related processes remain appropriate and up to date to support the changing needs of the business and in light of changing legislation and case law
- Finally, you will actively manage internal and external stakeholders.”
Fun fact: The modern bicycle was invented in Coventry. The Rover Safety Cycle was first revealed to an awestruck public in 1885. Created by John Kemp Starley, it was a radical departure from the ‘high wheelers’ or ‘Penny-Farthings’ that had characterised cycling to date.
How so? Well, it introduced the now-ubiquitous diamond-shaped frame, for a start. It also used a chain drive, which enabled the wheels to be smaller, making the bicycle itself easier to mount and dismount – hence, ‘safety’ cycle.
It sparked a transport revolution and made easy travel much more accessible to a wider range of people. It sold in huge numbers all over the world and completely changed the cycle industry, leading to all kinds of engineering refinements that have given us the smooth, efficient machines that we know today.
But who was John Kemp Starley and why Coventry? Starley was actually born in London but he was the nephew of James Starley, a leading bicycle manufacturer of the day who was based in Coventry and whose Ariel high wheelers were among the most popular on the market. John Starley spent several years working with his uncle before launching his own venture in 1877 with a friend, William Sutton, with the intention of creating a safer and easier-to-use bicycle than the rather dangerous and awkward Penny-Farthing.
At first they focused on tricycles under the brand name of Rover tricycles. Then the breakthrough came and in 1885 the pair unveiled the first Rover Safety Cycle, to astonishment and applause. It was a sensation. The company itself was soon renamed the Rover Cycle Company Ltd. From bicycles, Rover branched into motorcycles and then cars and its name still kind of lives on in the Land Rover all-terrain vehicle. But not bikes.
4. PLANNING DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL
Location: Woking, Surrey
The job: “The planning service is core to the success of Surrey County Council's ambition for the future – one that recognises the area's many unique characteristics and strengths, and which focuses on creating great places for people to live, work, learn and enjoy. The planning development team helps support this ambition through minerals and waste planning; planning for the county council's own development; planning enforcement and site restoration and enhancement.
“Managing the planning development management team, you will need to have both technical expertise, ideally with minerals and waste planning experience, and strong leadership qualities to support the development of the planning service within the changing backdrop at a local and national level. As part of the Infrastructure, Planning and Major Projects Extended Senior Leadership Team. You will be working at a strategic level and the responsibilities in the role profile reflect this.
“You will support the team to deal with all functions relating to Regulation 3 and minerals and waste developments, including policy and enforcement; and have a key role in unlocking the development potential. You will be the focal point of the planning development management function of the council and possess the skills to confidently secure the best outcomes for the people of Surrey with a demanding workload of often complex applications. There is a strong need to have an excellent political awareness; you will be the 'day to day' face of the team which will also include liaison with the chairman, supporting staff presenting applications and advising the Planning and Regulatory Committee.”
Fun fact: Woking borough is home to the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Brookwood Cemetery, which opened in 1854 to take the overspill from London’s crammed post-cholera cemeteries, covers 89 hectares and has around 235,000 interments.
At one time it was served by its own railway line from the London Necropolis Rialway Station next to Waterloo (two-way tickets for mourners; one-way for the dead) and over time it has developed many sections to people of different faiths, nationalities, disciplines and stations in life.
For example, Brookwood was one of the few cemeteries to permit burials on Sundays, which made it a popular choice with the poor as it allowed people to attend funerals without the need to take a day off work. As theatrical performances were banned on Sundays, it also made Brookwood a popular choice for the burial of actors.
There are dedicated sections, too, for Chelsea Pensioners, the Ancient Order of Foresters, Zoroastrians, Americans and the military, among many others. Brookwood also holds the 40-50,000 bodies that were disinterred from St James Church with the construction of the HS2 terminal at Euston. Oh, and there are too many notable people buried in Brookwood to mention. And it contains Britain's first crematorium.
It's a fascinating place that offers tours and is pleasant to be in throughout the year, thanks to a planting scheme that is intended to make the cemetery feel like its springtime throughout the year. Sadly, you can’t reach it via the London Necropolis Railway these days, but you can take a train from Waterloo to Brookwood and it’s a short walk to the cemetery.
5. PLANNING POLICY LEAD, CPRE THE COUNTRYSIDE CHARITY
Location: Hoxton, London/Hybrid
The job: Could you help CPRE get better outcomes for rural communities, the countryside and our climate? You’ll report to the head of policy and planning but also work closely with fellow policy and research leads, and our external affairs, engagement and income and volunteering and partnerships teams.
“In this role you will take on an exciting and highly varied programme of work in which no two days are the same. We are looking for a planner who has a strong interest in tackling the climate emergency and securing equality, diversity and inclusion in planning processes and outcomes.
“You will:
- initiate and manage research projects relating to CPRE’s main campaigns, including on affordable housing, renewable energy and countryside protection and access
- advise and work with senior managers and local groups on national planning policy issues of relevance to CPRE’s work, in particular through policy advice and research papers, and providing training
- advocate for CPRE campaigns and policies through engaging in relevant government consultations and representing CPRE to key policy and political audiences.”
Fun fact: Mary Wollstonecraft, writer, philosopher, political radical, women’s rights activist and mother of Mary Shelley, was born in Spitalfields and spent much of her childhood in neighbouring Hoxton. It wasn't a happy upbringing, though: her father was reckless with money and violent towards her mother. As the family spiralled into social ad financial declines, young Mary dedicated herself to protecting her mother and sisters from her father's wrath.
She left as soon as she could, but found opportunities for respectable but poor young women few and far between. She and a sister started a school in Stoke Newington and it was here that her radical education began, though association with intellectuals such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and her future husband, the philosopher William Godwin. It was during this period that she began to formulate her philosophy of egalitarianism for women, founded to some extent on her own experiences of discrimination because of her sex.
She rebelled, magnificently. At a time when educated women were expected to be dainty, respectable and socially compliant, she was anything but. She had affairs, had a child out of wedlock, declared that she would make her living as a writer, associated with subversive thinkers and revolutionaries and married Godwin.
During a life cut short (by the trauma of childbirth) at the age of just 38 in 1797, she wrote treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. She's best known, however, for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argued that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggested that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagined a social order founded on reason.
This, of course, was social heresy. And when the conduct of her personal life became more widely known (through an ill-advised biography written by Godwin), she was posthumously shunned, berated and satirised. It wasn’t until the Feminist movement began to take shape in the late 19th century that her work was rehabilitated and the full force of her revolutionary philosophy began to find influence. she's now a somewhat more 'respectable' figure: in 2009, Wollstonecraft was selected by the Royal Mail for their ‘Eminent Britons’ commemorative postage stamp issue.
Image credits | iStock; iStock; iStock, Chrislophotos, Shutterstock; iStock
