Skip to main content

The Friday Five 20.08.21

Published on: 20 Aug 2021

It's the Friday Five - our weekly does of planning jobs goodness. Here you'll find five of the best vacancies advertised on Planner Jobs this week, alongside some place-based facts to keep you amused and entertained.

1. PLANNING OFFICER, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL

Location: Northumberland

The job: "Northumberland County Council Planning Service is looking to recruit a permanent Planning Officer who is committed to delivering an efficient, effective and customer focused Planning Service. The Development Management Team receives circa 5,000 planning applications per year and therefore operates at a fast pace. We are looking to appoint the right person with the drive and ambition to add experience and expertise to a very focussed Development Management Team output.

"If you have a sound working knowledge of the development management process along with a positive attitude and a wish to seek and deliver solutions, then we would like to hear from you. You should be enthusiastic, committed and highly motivated. You must be able to work under your own initiative and also effectively in partnership with Planning colleagues, Developers, Agents, Elected Members, Parish Council’s and other stakeholders in order to support the Planning Service. The role requires recent Planning experience, preferably in Development Management, excellent analytical and negotiation skills, and good communication skills; both oral and written."

 

Chillingham Cattle [square] Fun fact: Northumberland has its own unique breed of cattle, and one which is the only wild cattle breed in the world. Chillingham Wild Cattle have managed to remain genetically isolated for hundreds of years. Just ninety of these really rare ruminants survive today, making them apparently rarer than Siberian tigers, mountain gorillas or giant pandas. You can visit these  at Chillingham Park, where they can be seen as a visitor attraction.

Find out more and apply 

2. PLANNING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, MENDIP DISTRICT COUNCIL

Location: Mendip

The job: "Due to a restructure of our Planning Enforcement Team we are now looking for a Planning Enforcement Officer. This is a great opportunity to be part a new team and to have a real input into the development of the Team and the Council’s Planning Enforcement function.

“Your role will be to investigate and resolve breaches of planning control. Your investigations may lead to service of enforcement notices, defending decisions at appeal, giving evidence in court and overseeing direct-action to secure compliance with enforcement notices. You will also be competent at managing your own workload as well as being competent at maintaining records in an organised, precise and complete manner, where necessary to PACE standards, in order to form the basis of future actions including possible prosecution."

Shepton Mallet [square] Fun fact: 'Shepton Mallet - a town which lies in the southern foothills of the Mendip Hills – is not named after someone’s hammer. And yes, we’re as disappointed as you. However, what we can say is that Shepton Mallet once sported the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery. This was built in 1864 and was the first in England to brew lager. It once exported 1.8 million bottles a year to Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, South America and the West Indies. While it closed in 1921, the town still makes plenty of cider and, get this, remains the home of Babycham production!

Find out more and apply

3. SENIOR/PRINCIPAL PLANNER AND GRADUATE PLANNER, WILLIS & CO.

Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire

The job: "Willis & Co., a leading rural planning consultancy based in Wiltshire, are looking to recruit a Senior / Principal Planner and a Graduate Planner to join our team.

“Senior/Principal Planner: You will be responsible for a variety of projects for farming, landowner, developer and HA clients throughout England and Wales. You will prepare and co-ordinate planning applications and appeals for a variety of residential and commercial schemes. You will have the opportunity to win your own business and will play an important part in the growth of the team.

"Graduate Planner: You will assist in all aspects of the consultancy, carrying out research and preparing advice, applications and appeal work and monitoring projects under the supervision of the Principal Planners. However, this is not a ‘back-office’ role. You will be closely involved with projects from beginning to end."

Alfred The Great [square] Fun fact:  It is thought that Chippenham used to be a Royal villa under Alfred the Great. It’s something of a shame that Alfred, this great Saxon king, is best known from this distance for his poor cookery timekeeping. There are many stories of Alfred’s remarkable talents. He once disguised himself as a minstrel so that he could wander into the camp of the Danish army, actually performing as an entertainer while checking the enemy out at close range.

A few miles east of Chippenham, in Wantage, a statue of Alfred has this inscription: “Alfred found learning dead and he restored it. Education neglected and he revived it. The laws powerless and he gave them force. The Church debased and he raised it. The land ravaged by a fearful enemy from which he delivered it. Alfred’s name will live as long as mankind shall respect the past.”
Try saying that about any of our leaders today…

Find out more and apply

4. URBAN DESIGN PLANNER/SENIOR URBAN DESIGN PLANNER (DEVELOPMENT AND MARINE PLANNING), ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL

Location: Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

The job: "Orkney Islands Council is commencing the review of the Orkney Local Development Plan under the new requirements set in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and the Council requires a professional to take a lead in place planning and the allocation/delivery of development land.

"We are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable Urban Design Planning Professional who has worked within place planning and the allocation/delivery of development land and has knowledge and understanding of the latest changes to the Scottish Planning System that are coming forward through the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. An understanding of rural and remote island communities and the role that development planning can play is desirable.

”You should be educated to degree level in planning or a related topic and be a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute or have the ability to become a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute."

Kirkwall, Orkney Islands [square] Fun fact: There are seventy Orkney islands in total, and given their distance from Scotland it makes sense that the Orkney capital Kirkwall is home to The Orkney Wireless Museum. This houses a collection of domestic and military wireless equipment as well as early advertising and posters and an archive of photographs depicting wartime forces. Included here is coverage of the building of the Churchill Barriers, which were built primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow.

This monument to the importance or radio to distant communities at a time of great peril strikes quite the contrast with contemporary forms of wireless point-to-point communication such as citizens band radio. Rather than warn of imminent engagement with the enemy in a fight to save democracy, this is more likely to be used to ask Dave if he can pick up a packet of 20 Bensons when he drives past the local Costcutter.

Find out more and apply

5. DEVELOPER OBLIGATIONS TEAM LEADER, ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL

Location: Broad Street, Aberdeen AB10 1AB

The job: "We are seeking an experienced and dynamic individual who can help shape and manage the developer obligation process at the Council. Working with staff across the Council developing policies, leading engagement with the development industry, engaging with community groups to secure and manage developer contributions in relation to planning applications. 

“With allocations of over 20,000 houses and 200 hectares of employment land in its Local Development Plan, Aberdeen City has experienced significant growth. This is reflected in the City Region Deal which saw Aberdeen City partnering with Aberdeenshire Council, the Scottish and UK Governments to deliver the 10 year £250 million housing, transportation and development program with a further £254 million committed by the Scottish Government. Focusing on regenerating the City Centre, the Council have also adopted the City Centre Masterplan, a 25 year multi million pound programme.

"The Council has also become the first local authority in Scotland to launch and complete a £370 million bond issue which will be used to invest in a substantial capital investment programme over the coming years. This is over and above the near £1 billion pound investment in both road and rail improvements across the City that are already under construction.

“Intrinsic to this will be the provision of infrastructure and services to support this growth. To help secure this, the role of Developer Obligations Team Leader was created. Reporting to the Planning and Environmental Policy Manager, this officer will be responsible for securing, managing and monitoring developer obligations, on all projects across the city."

National Lottery [square] Fun fact:  Aberdeen is one of the luckiest cities in the UK, the city having had no fewer than 40 millionaires during the 25 years in which the National Lottery has been active. 

The odds on the National Lottery used to be around 14 million to 1, but they then became an absolutely hatstand 56 million to one when the organisers went from 49 to 59 balls. Essentially, that means one chance for every single human being in the country, and then some.

Then again, given the nature of Scottish football it’s possible that 56 million to one are the odds of Aberdeen Football Club ever again winning the Scottish Premier League. The once all-conquering club are currently building a new stadium on the outskirts of the city.

Find out more and apply 

Image credits | iStock; Keith Tarrier, Shutterstock; iStock; iStock; Ian Woolcock, Shutterstock