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The Friday Five 05.08.22

Published on: 5 Aug 2022

Five wheel [square]1. AREA TEAM LEADER, SWANSEA COUNCIL

Location: Swansea, South Wales

The job: “Swansea is on the cusp of unprecedented levels of regeneration and development investment. Council-led major regeneration projects at Swansea Central Phase 1, Kingsway and Tawe Riverside are already under way. Other transformational projects will follow. Key to the continued success of our city regeneration is the role of our planning service. The role of area team leader is integral to achieving this success.

“This role is responsible for the management of one of three area development management teams, including all personnel, administrative and professional responsibilities. You will be responsible for the processing and determination of all planning and related applications and the enforcement of planning control and defence of decisions on appeal.

“You will attend, advise and guide the planning committees as lead professional planning officer, provide day to day guidance to elected members on planning matters and contribute to the continued improvement of the planning control service.”

Paviland cave [square]Fun fact: The ‘Red Lady of Paviland’ – a partial skeleton from the Neolithic era found in a cave near Swansea in 1823 – is the oldest example of ceremonial burial in Western Europe. This, and later excavations at another cave nearby are evidence of the first modern humans in Britain.

Oh, and the ‘Red Lady’ is not a lady at all, but the remains of a young man. The find, made at Goat’s Hole Cave (pictured) on the Gower Peninsula by Oxford University Professor of Geology Wiliam Buckland, was misinterpreted because the remains were dyed red and discovered with decorative items, such as ivory jewellery (in fact, mammoth tusk) and perforated seashell necklaces.

A religious man, Buckland didn’t believe the remains could be older than the biblical flood. He believed his discovery to be the skeleton of a Roman prostitute or witch. Later analysis has established that a) it’s a boy; b) the skeleton was put in the cave around 33,000 years ago.

In fact, this, along with further discoveries at another cave nearby, is the earliest evidence of modern humans in Britain.

Although the cave is now on the coast, at the time of the body’s interment, it would have been roughly 110 kilometres (70 miles) inland. The ‘Red Lady’ lived during a comparatively warm period between glaciations and bone analysis indicates that he lived mainly on a diet of 15-30 per cent fish. This suggests either a semi-nomadic lifestyle or is evidence that his tribe transported his body from the coast to the cave for burial.

Find out more and apply

2. SENIOR PLANNING OFFICER, WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL

Location: Wrexham (Wrecsam), North Wales

The job: “Wrexham County Borough Council aims to provide a positive environment to support the people and businesses that make us a key location in North Wales. The county borough offers a varied environment, including one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, a large and vibrant town, and fantastic landscapes, as well as important areas of historic importance such as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage Site.

“We are seeking to appoint a senior planning officer to our busy development management team. The role will offer you the opportunity to deal with a broad and varied caseload, including applications for major housing and employment developments. You will also be expected to support the lead officer and head of service by attending planning committee, by mentoring planning officers, planning assistants as well as supporting the planning enforcement team to remedy complex breaches of planning legislation.”

Babs the race car [square]Fun fact: Wrexham was the birthplace of one of the greats of the early motor racing scene – John Godfrey Parry-Thomas, better known as J G. Born the son of a vicar in 1884, Parry-Thomas went on to become a pioneering engineer, racing driver and holder of the world land speed record. Unfortunately, he died in an attempt to take his record back after it was broken.

Having studied engineering in London, the young J G worked for Leyland Motors and was employed as an aircraft designer during the First World War. In 1917 he was appointed Leyland's chief engineer and post-war he designed the Leyland Eight luxury car, which was intended to be a competitor to the Rolls-Royce. It was his experience of driving this car around the famed Brooklands racing circuit in 1920 that persuaded him to give up his job and pursue a career as a racing driver and engineer.

He set up his own engineering firm – Thomas Inventions Development Co – within the Brooklands circuit itself and even lived at the circuit in a converted First World War hut. His racing career was successful, with many wins and records over five seasons. But in 1925 he switched his attention to the land speed record, realising that this would live his company a higher profile than racing alone.

He acquired a car from a fellow speedster, rebuilt it, called it Babs (pictured) and set a new record of 270km/h (170 mph) at Pendine Sands in South Wales in 1926. Parry-Thomas took the record from the much better resourced Malcolm Campbell with his famous Bluebird.

Campbell reclaimed the record in early 1927, prompting Parry-Thomas to go again. On 3 March 1927 at Pendine Sands, the car’s chain broke and rolled and slid along the beach at more than 160km/h (100mph), killing its driver. Parry-Thomas thus became the first person to be killed in pursuit of the world land speed record. He was just 42.

Babs was buried in the dunes at Pendine Sands, where it lay until it was recovered in 1969 and rebuilt over 15 years. It will shortly be on display at a new Sands of Speed Museum, which is due to open this year at Pendine Sands.

Find out more and apply

3. ASSORTED PLANNING ROLES (X4), MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL

Location: Manchester

The job: “Do you have the qualities and passion to play a key role in shaping this dynamic modern city?

“The planning service is looking to recruit various planning, compliance and technical officers to help support the development, regeneration and compliance activity in the city. We are currently advertising the following roles:

  • ​Planning officers (development management; urban design and conservation)
  • Assistant planning officers (development management)
  • Planning compliance officers
  • Planning technicians (development management).

“The roles would be within the planning service in the development and implementation of the council's planning policies for the physical regeneration of the City of Manchester or development compliance where breaches of planning control are investigated.”

Castlefield Urban Heritage Park [square]Fun fact: It’s back to etymology corner – this week for Manchester. It’s thought that one of Britain’s biggest, greatest cities was named after, er, breasts. Or, more specifically, breast-shaped hills on either side of the River Medlock, where the Romans built their first settlement. It’s now modern-day Castlefield, which has preserved some of the remains of the Roman fort that once stood here.

The Romans called the settlement they established in 79CE Mamucium, which means, according to one interpretation, ‘breast-shaped hills’. In any case, it’s thought to be a Latinisation of an earlier ancient British name, either from mamm- (‘breast’ in reference to the hills) or mamma (‘mother’). A variant on this name was Mancunio, which gives us modern day Mancunian.

Before the Roman conquest, the territory was probably held by a large Celtic tribe called the Brigantes, who dominated modern-day northern England. The Roman fort was built at a strategic location at the confluence of two rivers in what is now Castlefield, where some of the foundations of the final fort are preserved (pictured).

Later on, the settlement was renamed Manchester – the -chester being from the Old English ceaster, meaning ‘Roman fortification’. This is itself a borrowing from the Latin castra, meaning ‘fort’. So there you have it: Manchester, a Roman fortification built between breast-shaped hills. And its name a mixture of Brittonic, Latin and old English. And people go on about bees when they talk about Manchester; yet its true symbol is perhaps something far more humanly maternal.

Find out more and apply

4. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY MANAGER, RUGBY BOROUGH COUNCIL

Location: Rugby, Warwickshire

The job: “Rugby is one of the fastest growing towns in the country and we’re in the process of planning for more. We need an exceptional and dynamic planner to lead our growth agenda and deliver our local plan, with the investment that follows.

“Located in the county of Warwickshire, near the cities of Coventry and Leicester, with direct rail links to London and Birmingham and within the ‘golden triangle of the strategic road network, Rugby’s accessibility is one of the key attributes making it a great place to live and work.

“The post holder will hold the principal responsibility for the delivery of the local plan and associated planning policy documents. Leading a group of dedicated staff to deliver our local development scheme, you will have a key role in driving forward our new corporate plan, shaping the future of the borough and ensuring our communities continue to prosper.

“Working directly with the chief officer – growth and investment, this is a pivotal role in bringing forward key infrastructure and investment sites, including the SW Rugby urban extension, Ansty Park and exciting plans to regenerate Rugby town centre. In addition, you will be instrumental in shaping our climate change and sustainable transport agenda with key partners.”

Rugby Cement works [square]Fun fact: Though perhaps best known for being the place where the game of rugby was invented, it’s also noted for being a cement centre. Indeed, cement production in the town predates the invention of rugby and was well-established by the time that game was codified in 1845.

Cement production began in Rugby on a small scale in the early 19th century. But it really took off in the 1860s when the Rugby Cement company was founded. Rugby Cement made its cement from Jurassic Blue Lias limestone at New Bilton, a suburb of Rugby.

The Rugby Cement company still exists, although nowadays it’s called Cemex, having been bought out by the larger Mexican company that moved its HQ to Rugby in 2018. So rugby really can claim to be a world centre for cement production.

Its base of operation is still known as the Rugby Cement works (pictured) and is home to the largest cement kiln in the UK, capable of producing 1.8 million tonnes of the stuff each year. The main tower at the works stands 400 feet tall and can apparently be seen from as far away as the Cotswolds and the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire.

Though lucrative, it’s a mucky industry and has to be tightly controlled, In 2006 Cemex was fined £400,000 for pollution following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

Find out more and apply

5. SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT OFFICER, GOSPORT BOROUGH COUNCIL

Location: Gosport, Hampshire

The job: Gosport is an urban authority on the south coast. The borough is an excellent place to live and work with extensive military heritage, 25 miles of coastline and ambitious plans to regenerate the borough, including its waterfront and town centre. With an Enterprise Zone and a number of historic and other major development sites coming forward for development, it’s an exciting time to join our team. The borough has also been designated as a Heritage Action Zone by Historic England.

“We are looking for an enthusiastic person who is a good team member as well as being self-motivated and able to demonstrate initiative. You will need to have a number of years of experience of working in development management and demonstrate a strong ability to negotiate and display excellent interpersonal skills to be able to communicate effectively.  Experience of working in local government and a good understanding of the planning system are desirable.”

Gosport ferry [square]Fun fact: Gosport (Population 83,000+) is the largest town in Britain without an operational railway station. This is odd, since it did in fact have a working passenger railway for more than a hundred years, from 1841 until 1953. In fact, it was the terminus for a branch line from the main London to Southampton railway and had a station built to an Italianate design by the noted station architect Sir William Tite.

It was intended that this would serve Portsmouth just across the harbour mouth from Gosport. Passengers arriving at Gosport would hop on a ferry to Portsmouth. But the logic of this plan was slightly scuppered because the railway company was not allowed to breach the defensive lines surrounding the harbour and so had to build the terminus away from the ferry port.

The ferry, in fact, prospered as a means of transporting people across to Portsmouth Harbour, where a newer station was built as the terminus of the main London-Portsmouth line. In other words, with a short ferry journey, you could get on a direct train towards London more quickly than taking the branch line to get onto the London-Southampton line. Make sense?

The ferry (pictured) is still widely used – so much so, that a station simply isn’t considered necessary. Nowadays what used to be the railway trackbed is an exclusive bus and cycle lane. Tite's station building has been retained for its historical and architectural value and has been converted into a small number of residential properties and offices.

Find out more and apply 

Image credits | Leighton Collins, Shutterstock; Electric Egg, Shutterstock; Cowardlion, Shutterstock; Wendy Lucid2711, Shutterstock; Dave Colman, Shutterstock