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The Friday Five 18.09.20

Published on: 18 Sep 2020

A round-up of five of the best opportunities on Planner Jobs this week.

1. SENIOR PLANNER, CUNNANE TOWN PLANNING

Location: Richmond, south-west London

The job: "Cunnane Town Planning LLP is a well-established planning practice serving primarily the south west of London, the south of England and a number of national clients.

"We are seeking a senior planner with:

- at least ten years’ experience in planning practice, preferably (but not necessarily) in private consultancy
- entrepreneurial skills, the ability to generate business, and excellent communication and inter-personal skills
- ambition and commitment to develop an established business."

Richmond Park [square]Fun fact: At 955 hectares, Richmond Park is the largest of London's royal Parks and the capital's second largest park overall (Lee Valley Park, at 4,000 hectares is the largest). It's also the second largest urban walled park in the UK (Birmingham's Sutton Park is the largest).

The park was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park and is still host to some 600 red and fallow deer. It's a national nature reserve, a site of special scientific interest and and contains several grade I and II listed buildings (including the Royal Ballet School). It's served as a location for films that include Billy Elliott, Anne of a Thousand Days and the wonderfully experimental Performance.

This last starred rock singer Mick Jagger, who wouldn't have had far to travel for the Richmond Park scenes - he lives just down the road on Richmond Hill (and at one time could be spotted cycling round the park on a bike with his name on custom made by London cycle shop Condor).

Find out more and apply

2. DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT TEAM LEADER/ PRINCIPAL PLANNER (SENIOR SPECIALIST CO-ORDINATOR), MALDON DISTRICT COUNCIL

Location: Maldon, Essex

The job: "As one of the most senior development management planners at Maldon District Council, you will play a pivotal role in leading a vibrant development management service, providing professional advice and guidance to the team and their workload relating to all types of applications, appeals and planning enforcement.

"Reporting to the specialist services manager and lead specialist for development management, you will be expected to have a positive, solution-finding approach to work whilst achieving targets and meeting deadlines. You will present applications to the planning committee and represent the council at appeals."

Mud race [square]Fun fact: The Maldon Mud Race is an annual race in which participants compete to complete a 500-metre course through thick mud over the bed of the river Blackwater in Maldon.

The race's origins can be traced back to a challenge in 1973 with a challenge to a regular at one of the local pubs. This evolved in to a race across the river at low tide to a waiting barrel of beer, where runners would drink a pint before turning for home.

Now run for charity, with many participants in fancy dress, the Maldon Mud Race takes place each spring.

Find out more and apply

3. PLANNING OFFICER, THREE RIVERS DISTRICT COUNCIL

Location: Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

The job: "We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate with environmental awareness and an interest in planning who is willing to develop their career and make an important positive contribution to the local area.

"Three Rivers District Council is a high-achieving organisation at the leading edge of public services. The development management service achieves excellent results and continues to strive for excellence with investment in the development of the service. On the fringe of London, the district is experiencing significant development pressure, with a huge variety of planning application types and sizes. The district has a varied built and natural environment including 22 conservation areas, numerous listed buildings and a large number of designated wildlife sites. "

Frost [square]Fun fact: Despite being just 17 miles from London, Rickmansworth is one of the coldest towns in the UK, with a climate more akin to Aberdeenshire than the south east of England.

This is on account of the town lying in a "frost hollow" at the bottom of the steep valley on the edge of the Chiltern Hills. This unusual geographical feature is created in part by a Victorian railway embankment that prevents cold air sinking into the valley from draining away naturally.

The greatest daily temperature range in England was recorded on 29 August 1936 in Rickmansworth when the temperature climbed from 1.1 °C at dawn to 24.9 °C within 9 hours. 

Find out more and apply

4. DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, DARTFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL

Location:Dartford, Kent

The job: "You will lead the development management team responsible for determining all applications in the borough, as well as providing the council’s response to development in the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation area. You will inherit a high performing and motivated team with high performance levels and good appeal outcomes. You will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the team, including planning enforcement and planning administration.

"Your job will be to ensure that the high-quality and consistency of decision-making is maintained. You will need to react  to national changes in the planning system, ensuring that these are communicated and well understood.  You will ensure that the development coming forward is co-ordinated with the overall outcome and that local communities benefit from the opportunities that new development brings."

Dartford Warbler [square]Fun fact: The Dartford Warbler is one of just two British birds named after towns. The other  - the Sandwich Tern - also takes its name from a town in Kent. A vulnerable species, the Dartford Warbler's population crashed with a succession of severe winters in the early 1960s and at one point was thought to be down to just 10 breeding pairs. Nowadays there are thought to be around 3,200 pairs of this small, dark, pink breasted songbird, and it can be seen in a several locations in the south of England.

This week's Friday Five also carries mention of another Dartford Warbler, of course. Richmond resident and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was born and bred in Dartford. 

Find out more and apply:
https://jobs.theplanner.co.uk/job/28482/development-manager/

5. PLANNING OFFICER - ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE, GEDLING BOROUGH COUNCIL

Location: Arnold, Nottingham

The job: "We are seeking a fully qualified planning officer to investigate breaches of planning and related legislation

"The successful candidate will have a sound knowledge of planning law and best practice in relation to planning enforcement, be resilient under pressure, have excellent written and verbal communication skills and highly developed negotiation skills.

"In addition to planning enforcement work, opportunities will also be available for the successful candidate to gain experience of managing a small caseload of planning applications and general planning enquiries."

Coalminer [square]Fun fact: Gedling Colliery, which produced some 70 million tonnes of coal in 93 years of operation between 1898 and 1991 was known as 'the Pit of Nations' in the years after World War II  because men from more than 20 different countries worked there.

In particular, a large contingent of the workforce (estimates vary from 10% -25%) between the 1950s and 70s were Jamaican immigrants who were part of the 'Windrush' generation of postwar migrants invite to Britain to help rebuild the nation after war. Gedling Colliery's banner even includes a black miner in recognition of the work of Jamaican miners.

It was a mixed experience for the black miners who have reported feeling like "family" beneath the surface but experiencing discrimination within the small mining communities above the surface. The experiences of black miners - at Gedling and other collieries - were captured in a 2019 exhibition at the National Coal Museum in Wakefield.

Find out more and apply

Photo credits | iStock, Shutterstock