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The Friday Five 25.01.19

Published on: 25 Jan 2019

A round-up of five of the best, most interesting, significant or unusual jobs on Planner Jobs this week.

Crossness Pumping Station [square]1. ANY OLD IRON, ANY OLD IRON

What?

Senior planning enforcement officer, London Borough of Bexley.

Where?

Refurbished 1980s civic offices on the edge of central Bexley, south east London.

The job

"Bexley is planning for unprecedented growth and development but a key corporate and political priority is to ensure managed and controlled growth and the planning enforcement team will play a crucial role delivering on that priority. 

"The ideal candidate for a senior planning enforcement officer will have experience taking robust enforcement action through some or all of the following: drafting and serving notices, being a prosecution witness, defending appeals including at Inquiry and/or taking direct action."

Bexley is a  south east London borough within planning minister James Brokenshire's constituency. Centred on Bexleyheath, it's an urban area peppered with large areas of open green space and containing the settlements of Erith, Sidcup and Welling. However, being within the Thames Gateway area, it's one of several boroughs accommodating the eastward spread of London. It's population of around 250,000 is expanding quickly.

Fun fact

The borough is home to the astonishing Crossness Pumping Station, an extraordinary piece of architecture that was integral to Joseph Bazalgette's Victorian sewer system. Opened in 1865, the Grade 1 listed building contains some of the most spectacular ornamental Victorian cast ironwork in the world.

Find out more and apply

Pennies [square]2. GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT

What?

Development delivery project manager, East Devon District Council.

Where?

Blackdown House, brand new purpose-built offices on a business park in Honiton, south east Devon.

The job

"This challenging and exciting role involves managing a series of projects where the council will be working with land owners, developers and other stakeholders to enable large scale development proposals to come forward where they are currently unable to do so.

"The council has an excellent track record of delivering housing in the district but has a number of key sites where for various reasons the sites are not coming forward as planned. You would project manage the council's intervention in these sites working with colleagues across the council co-ordinating resources to address the various issues and unlock the sites."

East Devon is one of the UK's larger districts and though it has a relatively small population (142,000), it encompasses the towns of Sidmouth, Exmouth and Honiton, as well as numerous small villages. The greater part of the district consists of the East Devon and Blackdown Hills AONBs. The district also contains a long stretch of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

Fun fact

Each year on the first Tuesday after 19 July, Honiton re-enacts the 'hot pennies ceremony', a practice that dates back to the reign of King Stephen in the 13th century. Ostensibly philanthropic, it involved wealth citizens throwing pennies from a market place building to poorer citizens below. However, the pennies were heated. The reason? The wealthy apparently enjoyed seeing the poor burn their hands as they scrabbled for money.

Find out more and apply

Crawdaddy Club [square]3. CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION?

What?

Planner, London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Wandsworth (based in Richmond).

Where?

Dedicated council offices in central Richmond, one of London's smartest towns.

The job

"We are looking for an enthusiastic planner to work on a range of planning applications in this busy and interesting London borough. You could be recently qualified or looking for your first job through to become an experienced Planner who can independently deal with interestingly large and complex applications which would look great on your CV."

The only London borough on both sides of the River Thames, Richmond is one of London's wealthiest; half parkland (including Richmond Park), it also contains the National Physical Laboratory, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Trust.

Fun fact

Richmond's Crawdaddy Club played an integral role in the development of England's 1960s rhythm 'n' blues scene, nurturing bands such as The Rolling Stones (its house band in 1963) and The Yardbirds (who produced Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck among others). The club, founded by Georgian emigre Giogio Gomeslky, looks it name from Bo Diddley's 1960 song "Doing the Craw-Daddy". Stones singer Mick jagger liked the area so much he moved there an still lives on Richmond Hill.

Find out more and apply

Rutland [square]4. SMALL AND UNIQUE

What?

Principal planning officer, Rutland County Council.

Where?

Council offices in Oakham, East Midlands, between the County Museum and the police station.

The job

"Enthusiastic and motivated, you will be able to utilise your planning and management experience to lead the team to deliver against challenging objectives, projects and plans, and to fulfil our statutory duties. Experienced in public consultation and engaging with the community, you will be able to handle queries from our stakeholders professionally, and respond to a variety of consultation documents. 

"You will be joining the team at a crucial time in the delivery of our ambitious plans for growth, giving you the opportunity to further your knowledge and experience supporting development that will bring significant change to the county."

Rutland County Council is the smallest unitary authority in England, has a population of just 38,000 and is regarded as one of the least economically deprived parts of Britain.

Fun fact

Rutland bitter is one of only three UK beers to have achieved Protected Geographical Indication status. This EU regulation ensures that only products produced in the designated region can bear its name. Rutland Bitter is currently brewed Oakham's Grainstore Brewery.

Find out more and apply

Pinewood Studios [square]5. INFAMY, INFAMY, THEY'VE ALL GOT IT FOR ME!

What?

Planning manager, Gridserve sustainable Energy Ltd (Buckinghamshire based energy services business).

Where?

Gridserve's offices on a technology park in a green location on the banks of the River Colne and next to lakes and a golf course in Iver, Bucks.

The job

"The Development team is seeking a planning manager to join their team to secure planning and environmental permits required to construct and operate Gridserve's Electric Forecourt™ and the wider hybrid solar product portfolio. 

"You will have previous experience and excellent working knowledge and understanding of the planning and environmental process relevant to renewables sector."

Gridserve develops, builds, owns and operates power infrastructure, including electric vehicle charging points. 

Iver itself is large civil parish with a central clustered village and dispersed neighbourhoods in South Buckinghamshire, just a few miles north of Heathrow Airport.

Fun fact

Pinewood Studios, based at Iver Heath, has been home to hundreds of memorable British films and television shows over the last 83 years (it opened in 1936). It was founded and funded by Methodist and flour magnate J Arthur Rank, along with building tycoon Charles Boot, who wanted to create a British rival to Hollywood. Top box office movies continue to be made there (including the recent Star Wars films), but it's perhaps best loved as the home of the Carry On films. Oo, madam!

Find out more and apply

Photo credits | Shutterstock, iStock, Steve Cadman (Crossness Pumping Station), Le Deluge (Crawdaddy Club)