The Friday Five 29.11.19
A round-up of the best, most interesting or unusual jobs on Planner Jobs this week.
1. ASHES TO ASHES
What?
Planning support manager, Biffa Waste Services.
Where?
Solihull Parkway, a business park close to Birmingham Airport, the M42 and the M6.
The job
"This is a planning specialist role that supports the delivery of key corporate and operational business development projects relating to investment, growth and regulatory compliance.
"The post-holder will; manage and decide appropriate courses of action, so as to secure relevant planning permissions for new development; assist in undertaking planning due diligence; provide planning support with major contract bids; manage budgetary support relating to individual planning applications, assist with the management of the national database for planning consents; assist with monthly and annual reporting of project delivery against targets; help provide internal advice on planning matters and; liaise with local regulatory authorities and other relevant stakeholders over relevant planning matters."
Biffa plc is one of the UK's largest waste management companies and provides collection, landfill, recycling and special waste services to local authorities and industrial and commercial clients in the UK.
Fun fact
With industrialisation, the build-up of waste became a major problem in British cities. The first organised solid waste management system appeared in London in the late 18th century, where a collection and recovery system was established around the 'dust-yards' which held coal ash from domestic and industrial fires. The dust had a market value as a material for brick-making and soil fertiliser.
Biffa itself, founded by Richard Biffa in 1912, began life as a company that collected ashes and clinker from London power stations.
2. TAKE A SHOT AT THIS
What?
Head of strategic planning and design, London Borough of Enfield.
Where?
The Civic Centre is a collection of buildings (including a tower block) just outside the town centre in Enfield in the far north of London.
The job
"In a newly established role, you will lead our approach to strategic planning and design in a collaborative way across the council. You will be instrumental in building up the service and its capacity to innovate, as well as deliver. Experience in planning policy is required as you lead production of the local plan, infrastructure delivery plan and related policy and guidance. You will also understand the role that good design plays in the delivery of successful planning and placemaking."
A mid-sized but very populous borough with a diverse population, Enfield is centred on the town of Enfield and also incorporates Southgate and Edmonton. It's home to one of London’s largest regeneration projects in Meridian Water, as well as a substantial estate renewal and home-building programme.
Fun fact
Enfield has a history of armaments manufacture and the Royal Small Arms Factory was located in the borough from 1816 to 1988, producing British military rifles, muskets and swords. Notably, the Lee–Enfield .303 rifle was standard issue for the British Army until 1957.
Other firearms manufactured at the factory included the Bren and Sten machine guns—the "en" in both cases denoting the place of manufacture.
3. A STEP CLOSER TO PLANNING HEAVEN
What?
Team leader - planning policy, London Borough of Islington.
Where?
Islington's grade II listed Town Hall, a 1920s building designed in the classical style.
The job
"The review of the existing local plan is at an advanced stage and we are working to a very ambitious timescale for adopting the revised Plan. In this post you will be leading on the preparation of the statutory local plan and supplementary planning documents; assisting Development Management with the implementation of the new policies once adopted; leading on the neighbourhood planning work; leading on devising effective local responses to the ongoing national planning reform; leading on the preparation of Article 4 Directions; advising senior management and elected members on a range of planning policy issues; commissioning technical studies; and managing staff."
Islington is the second smallest borough in London and the third smallest district in England, yet is a very diverse, densely populated inner London district that stretches from Farringdon in the south to Archway in the north and includes Highbury, Holloway and Barnsbury. It's home to a very wide range of sporting and cultural venues (including Arsenal's Emirates stadium, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the O2 Academy) - not to mention noted universities, hospitals, restaurants and more.
Fun fact
Angel is named after an inn on the Great North Road that was in use by the end of the 16th century. Set in the grounds of St John's Priory, the inn was named after the Angel of the Annunciation, which appeared on its sign. It was a useful stop for travellers to the City of London, as the rural area outside it was considered dangerous.
It has a notable place in popular culture. The Angel Inn was the subject of William Hogarth's 1747 drawing, The Stage-Coach; The Angel islington is the third-cheapest property on the Monopoly board, reflecting the downmarket state of Islington through much of the 20th century; and, in Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere, Islington is a fallen angel that lives under London - named after the Angel tube station, of course.
4. GET ON BOARD THE SHIP OF THE FENS
What?
Senior planning officer, East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Where?
The Grange is a collection of old and new buildings on the edge of Ely city centre, incorporating the former Grange Maternity House.
The job
"We are looking for a driven, systematic and dynamic senior planning officer to join our team on a permanent basis. You will be working in development management and in this post you will deal with a varied workload of major and more complex minor planning applications, whilst supporting, motivating and advising planning officers and the planning assistant.
"With a diverse range of buildings and projects in the district, including internationally renowned heritage and environmental assets, new industrial projects, a major extension to the north of Ely and retail proposals, there are wide-ranging areas of work to be enjoyed within this role."
East Cambridgeshire is a large, mostly rural district centred on the cathedral city of Ely and including a single town (Soham) and numerous villages. Ely itself is a small city (just 20,000 population) that can be dated back to the founding of an abbey in the 7th century.
Fun fact
Ely Cathedral is known as the Ship of the Fens because dominates the view from the surrounding flat wetlands for miles around. The cathedral itself is built on higher ground than the surrounding fens - Ely itself is essentially an island surround by watercourses.
Construction of the cathedral was begun by William the Conqueror in 1083, and it finally opened in 1189. It wasn't completed, however, until 1351 and underwent extensive restoration in the Victorian period. Nikolaus Pevsner wrote "as one approaches Ely on foot or on a bicycle, or perhaps in an open car, the cathedral dominates the picture for miles around … and offers from everywhere an outline different from that of any other English cathedral".
5. HEY, PILGRIM
What?
Conservation officer and temporary conservation officer, Bassetlaw District Council.
Where?
Queen's Buildings is a redbrick office in the centre of Worksop, Notts.
The job
Conservation officer: "As part of your role, you will be required to give specialist professional advice related to the council’s planning and listed building casework. You will also contribute to the wider work of the busy and energetic conservation team, including the research and writing of guidance and conservation area appraisals and management plans."
Temporary conservation officer: "This role will enable candidates to develop knowledge and experience on matters relating to providing advice on listed buildings, conservation areas. You will support the team in the research and writing of guidance and conservation area appraisals and management plans."
The northernmost district in Nottinghamshire, Bassetlaw is largely rural with just two towns - Worksop and Retford - and numerous villages. Worksop is a mid-sized medieval market town at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest that is popular with commuters to nearby Sheffield and Nottingham. Both Worksop and Retford in particular, are peppered with listed buildings.
Fun fact
The Pilgrim Fathers - the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, USA - originated from villages of Babworth and Scrooby on the outskirts of Retford between 1586 and 1605. For example, Richard Clyfton was parson at All Saints' Church, Babworth between 1586 and 1605. Two of his friends were William Brewster and William Bradford, both passengers aboard the Mayflower.
The Pilgrim Fathers established Plymouth Colony in 1620, which became the second successful English settlement in America, after Jamestown in Virginia. Their story has become central to the history and culture of the United States - but also locally: in 2019 Retford's Bassetlaw Museum opened a gallery dedicated to the Pilgrim Fathers, funded by National Lottery money.
Photos | iStock, Shutterstock,
