The Friday Five 30.08.24
It's The Friday Five, our weekly round-up of five of the best town planning jobs currently advertised on Planner Jobs – along with some fun, place-based facts. This week, opportunities in Cardiff, Teignbridge, Stoke-on-Trent, Wychavon and Midhurst, Plus fascinating tales of a celebrated privateer, England's first female barrister, Stoke's greatest delicacy, Asum Grammar and Midhurst's myriad listed buildings.
1. PRINCIPAL PLANNERS x2 (STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT), CARDIFF COUNCIL
Location: Cardiff/Hybrid
The job: "We're looking for two experienced, enthusiastic and motivated people to join our team as principal planners in our strategic development management team. You'll be part of a team of outstanding officers who are committed to delivering the highest quality of development and making Cardiff a truly excellent city.
"You'll manage a busy and varied caseload of applications, with a particular emphasis on high profile residential, commercial and city centre applications with a significant design component.
"Cardiff is one of the fastest growing and most highly-skilled cities in Britain, and the Planning team plays a key role in delivering and managing the growth of the city. As Wales’ capital city, it’s also an amazing place to live, which makes it easy to find a great work-life balance."
Fun fact: It's likely that you've heard off even drunk, Captain Morgan rum. And you probably think the Captain Morgan colourfully portrayed on the drink's labels is a fictional creation. Far from it, Sir Henry Morgan, born in Cardiff around 1635, was a notorious pirate in the Caribbean who became a member of the landed gentry and ultimately governor of Jamaica, then an English colony.
Given that pirates – or privateers – as they were officially known, generally operated with permission of the crown, it's no great surprise that Morgan should have made a large stash of cash, bought several sugar plantations, gained the favour of the king and died with considerable wealth and a state funeral.
It's an ascent from obscurity that could perhaps only have happened at a time of empire building when capable, ruthless and politically can opportunities to carve out considerable wealth and land assets for themselves while operating in the interests of the nation. Morgan was one such and became so lauded that when he died, he was given a state funeral in Jamaica with an amnesty declared so that pirates and privateers could pay their last respects to one of their own who had made the crossover into 'respectable' society.
And, yes, of course this was a dark period in English history, Morgan was a warmonger and a slave owner who capitalised on plunder, murder, enslavement and human suffering, It's really nothing to be celebrated. And yet we romanticise such figures. Hence, Captain Morgan, the Welsh rapscallion made good, was chosen in 1944 by the Seagram company to be the 'face' of its new brand of rum. By 2007, Captain Morgan was by volume, the second largest brand of spirits in the United States and the seventh largest worldwide.
And Pirates of the Caribbean, based on the 'golden age of piracy' in which Morgan was perhaps the major player, has been one of the biggest movie franchises in cinema history. Ah well. Fancy a tipple?
2. PLANNING OFFICERS x2, TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL
Location: Newton Abbot, Devon
The job: "Are you a town planner looking for the next step in your career, a newly qualified graduate in planning or related subject looking to start out on your career, or working in a field related to planning and want a new challenge?
"We're seeking two planning officers to join our dynamic development management team. You'll work alongside a like-minded group of planners and technical/administrative support staff who work together to deliver high-quality developments, improve the quality of the built and natural environment across the district and help make Teignbridge a healthy and desirable place to live, work and visit.
"Each position will be within one of the two area-based teams carrying a case load of varying types and scale of application, and dealing with all stages of the development management process. This will include giving pre-application advice, making site visits, writing reports, making recommendations on your own cases, discharging conditions and representing the council in appeals and at planning committee.
"We'll provide you with guidance, support and development opportunities to help you succeed and progress.
"Serving a growing community of c.134,800 residents, and a thriving tourist population, Teignbridge District Council is a forward-thinking authority with a firm focus on what’s truly needed in the long term."
Fun fact: Among the numerous excellent people who have come from, or lived part of their life in, Newton Abbot, Ivy Williams is among the most notable. Yet she is also little known outside of an exclusive set: for Ivy Williams was the first woman to be called to the English bar.
Born in Newton Abbot in 1877, her father a solicitor, she studied law at the Society of Oxford Home Students which later became St Anne's College. She was only the third woman to study law at Oxford University but, having passed all her exams was prevented from actually receiving her degree until 1920 because of the regulations that were in force at Oxford University at the time. Nevertheless, she obtained a bachelor of laws degree from the University of London in 1901.
In 1919 the Sex Disqualification Removal Act came into force and the barrier to Williams actually practicing the profession for which she was qualified were lifted. She was among the first three women to take and pass bar examinations and the first to actually be called to the bar in 1922.
Though she never actually practiced, she opened the door to other women to follow the same path. Williams was also the first woman to teach law at an English university, too, from 1920 at her alma mater the Society of Oxford Home Students (the university having finally awarded her the degree she had earned, after it became illegal not to do so).
Unsurprisingly, she was also the first woman to be awarded a law doctorate and, clearly indefatigable, learnt Braille in later life and even wrote a Braille primer for the National Institute for the Blind in 1948. She died in 1966, aged 88.
She's not forgotten, though. In 2020 barrister Karla Lykourgou established the first outfitter dedicated to producing outwear for women. She named it Ivy & Normanton after Ivy Williams and her contemporary Helena Normanton.
3. SENIOR PLANNER ROLES IN THE OFFICE FOR PLACE, MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
The job: "The Office for Place is a newly established, non-departmental public body that will develop evidence, advice and tools to support the creation of well-designed, sustainable places. We'll be at the forefront of supporting councils and the wider sector to successfully implement government planning priorities.
"This is an exciting opportunity for you to be part of a new organisation whose objectives are to:
- Catalyse a fundamental change to secure the creation and stewardship of popular, healthy, beautiful, and sustainable places.
- Help communities to ask for and deliver new places, and manage existing places, to be popular, healthy, beautiful, and sustainable.
- Support public sector planners and the British design and development industries to be the best place makers in the world.
"You'll be helping to shape a programme of work, being at the forefront of the new government’s ambitions for a more effective planning process."
Fun fact: The 'official' delicacy of Stoke? The humble oatcake – though this may not be what you think if you're used to the Scottish oatcakes that are widely sold in supermarkets. The Staffordshire oatcake is more like a pancake than a biscuit, made from a mixture of oatmeal, flour and yeast that's cooked on a griddle.
Typically, oatcakes are wrapped around a variety of fillings, such as cheese, bacon, egg, tomatoes - and so on. It's basically a meal served in a wrap rather than on a plate. Or they can be served with sweet things, as we tend to serve up pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
In any case, oatcakes were a staple of the Potteries diet for the best part of a century and it was usual for them to be sold from the windows of houses directly to customers on the street (so very much a precursor to fast food). In the postwar years, however, as supermarkets emerged and began too ell a much wider variety of foods from all over the world, diets changed and oatcakes declined in popularity. Even so, theist 'hole in the wall; seller clung on until 2012.
They've seen something of a resurgence of late as we're undergone a rediscovery of regional British cuisines. A number of places in and around the Potteries now sell oatcakes commercially and that last hole in the wall? It reopened in 2019.
4. HEAD OF URBAN DESIGN, ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, WYCHAVON AND MALVERN HILLS DISTRICT COUNCILS
Location: Pershore, Worcestershire
The job: "We are looking for a new team member to help us lead the urban design, ecology and conservation functions in Malvern and Wychavon Districts. We have an ambitious growth agenda and some of the fastest growing districts in the West Midlands, with major growth proposals and an exciting brownfield regeneration agenda in key market towns. This new role will lead the urban design input into these major schemes whilst promoting the conservation of the significant historic assets in the districts alongside an ambitious green and biodiversity net gain agenda.
"This role will form a key part of the planning and infrastructure management team and the postholder will work closely with colleagues across the council, including the policy, development planning and planning management teams. The role also involves leading on the development and maintenance of key relationships with partners, including private sector developers, members, Worcestershire County Council, and neighbouring authorities.
"This is an exciting opportunity where you can truly make a difference working on some of the largest development proposals in the region in a supportive environment and growing team."
Fun fact: If you were talking about the mediaeval town of Evesham, in Worcestershire’s Wychavon district, how would you pronounce it? “Eve-shum" is the more common pronunciation, but "Eve-uh-shum" is also popular.
“Asum” probably wasn’t on the tip of your tongue, but that was a popular contraction of Evesham – so much so, it even lent its name to the town’s distinctive local vernacular, ‘Asum Grammar’. It’s a dialect that has sadly largely died out now thanks to standardised schooling and television, but it was popular enough for a glossary to be published in 1891, whilst a local Victorian newspaperman was fond of quoting from a fictitious Asum Grammar dictionary in his articles.
The Badsey Society, a local history society formed in the nearby village of Badsey, offers a handy ‘Introduction to Asum Grammar’. The Society identifies the “insular lifestyle” of agricultural workers in the Vale of Evesham as helping to perpetuate the dialect.
A few examples of Asum Grammar, from The Badsey Society:
If a local said to you, "Yerd?", which is equivalent to, "Have you heard?". You could reply, "Ast?" which means, "Have you?"
Many times a phrase is compressed, an example is, "Wodder say?" or "Woddee say?" which enquires as to, "What did her\he say?'. If you had been out you might be asked on your return, "Werst bin?" which expands to "Where have you been?".
And finally, a joke in Asum Grammar:
Jack: "Ast yerd bout ol' Arry?"
Lol: "No."
Jack: "They sez e'd juss'd garn owt t' pick sum byuns fer tay an dropp'd down dyud."
Lol: "Wot did iz missis do?"
Jack: "Wot cud 'er do, 'er 'ad t' open a tin a pays."
Nope, me neither.
5. DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT OFFICER, SOUTH DOWNS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
Location: Midhurst, West Sussex/Hybrid
The job: "The South Downs National Park offers a unique and fulfilling environment in which to develop a planning career. As a development management officer, you'll have a case load of householder and other planning applications where the authority delivers the planning service directly. You'll travel to the application sites, assess the planning issues and make recommendations to the team leader and on occasion to the planning committee. You'll also liaise with a wide variety of consultees inside the authority, including our national park rangers and external bodies.
"This is a career grade post and ideally, we are looking for applicants with some development management experience of dealing with planning applications and enquiries. However, if you have a planning related qualification and desire to kick start your career in planning or want to move from a private consultancy position, this could be a suitable opportunity.
"So, if you're looking to start your career in planning or have some experience and want to develop you knowledge and skills within the South Downs National Park dealing with a wide variety of challenging and interesting caseload of applications in a sensitive landscape, then this could be the right opportunity for you."
Fun fact: If you're a fan of heritage, you'll love Midhurst. For this small town of just 5,000 or so inhabitants has an astonishing 106 buildings listed with Historic England, plus a scheduled monument.
Most of the listed buildings span a period of around 500 years (from the 16th century to around 1940), but at least two predate 1500. The oldest building in the town is the parish church of St Mary Magdalene and St Denis, which has a grade II* listing along with the Spread Eagle Hotel. The church dates to the 12th century and is among just three remaining structures from the period, alongside the ruins of St Anns Castle (the scheduled monument) and South Pond, thought to have been dammed in the early 12th century as a fishpond for the castle.
The spread Eagle itself is one of England's oldest coaching inns and dates back to 1430. The rest of the towns' listed buildings speak to its lengthy history and tell a tale of expansion over the centuries: six are 16th century; 30 are 17th century; 32 are 18th century and 22 are early 19th century. Just two date from the 1840 onward - the most recent being a telephone box constructed sometime after 1935.
This K6 model is a classic red telephone box commissioned in 1935 by the general Post office to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V. It was designed by the great Sir George Gilbert Scott and between 1936 and 1968, some 60,000 K6 kiosks were installed around Britain. Around 2,500 are listed.
Image credits | Monticellos, Shutterstock; Sebastien Coelle, Shutterstock; iStock; iStock; DimDMS, Shutterstock
