Your new organisation

BCP Council have strong ambitions to grow. Born out of Local Government Reorganisation in 2019, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole have come together to form the 10^th largest urban local authority in England. It is a place where culture and heritage meet innovation and modernity, village meets town, country meets coast, creativity meets digital, businesses flourish and people thrive. The potential for investment and economic growth is huge.

With over 15 miles of beautiful, world renowned coastline, the area has excellent transport links, with rail and road connections nationally and to London as well as international flights from Bournemouth Airport.

Its communities are vibrant and diverse, with an outstanding quality of life, where everyone plays an active role. They are a globally recognised coastline of opportunity, where people love to live, learn, work, explore, invent and relax.

BCP has a culture of openness to ideas and experimentation in how they do things, and welcome imaginative, creative and ambitious thinking.  BCP know that they’re not the highest performing service at present, but are improving fast and want people to join them on their journey and be a part of their exciting new future.

Your new role

BCP is seeking curious, creative and ambitious individuals to be a part of their journey, in planning for the future growth and prosperity of the region. They are looking to welcome candidates with the desire to make an impact and feel confident sharing their ideas. Their team ethos is one which encourages collaboration and thoughtful contribution towards how the Council delivers their planning service, to best serve the interests of the community and region.

Within your role in the Planning Policy department, your accountabilities, dependent on grade, will include:

• Collect data on and research the issues and needs that impact on the built environment and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole as a place, to inform policy considerations
• Organise and undertake consultation exercises and promote opportunities for the public to scrutinise, engage with and contribute to the Local Plan, planning policy documents and other related work, so that the Council can understand and consider the community's needs and wishes. This will be done following established procedures, and involve organising focus groups, undertaking surveys, and attending public meetings and local forums
• Draft appraisals, reports, topic papers, plans and recommendations that clearly outline the Council's policy position
• Identify and research the issues and needs that impact on the built environment and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole as a place, to inform policy considerations
• Undertake analysis of information from research and consultations, as well as legislation and national policies, assimilating into suggestions for changes to the Local Plan or other documents
• Develop well-evidenced and creative policy solutions on how to address local issues with the built environment to guide the design and development of the area
• Provide professional technical guidance, advice, information and recommendations to Members, colleagues and the public so that they are well-informed and understand the Local Plan, planning policies or other related work and their implications
• Support the implementation and monitoring of planning policy to ensure that the Local Plan is adhered to successfully. This may involve preparing design and development briefs for sites, assessing and determining heritage/conservation applications, and supporting development management activity by giving advice and recommendations to Planning Officers regarding relevant applications
• Provide expert input into examinations and hearings to justify and defend the Council's planning policy or specialist position

What you'll need to succeed

• Degree in Town Planning or related degree and / or suitable experience
• Member or eligibility to a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute
• Knowledge of relevant planning legislation such as Town and Country Planning Act, and governmental planning framework
• Knowledge of current policies relating to the built environment, both national policies and the Local Plan
• Experience of policy development and / or conservation / heritage or urban design
• Experience of conducting research and public consultations
• Experience of analysing data and presenting summary information
• Ability to plan and organise workload

What you'll get in return

• Flexible, tailored and accommodating hybrid working arrangements to suit a wide variety of applicants
• Access to newly modern, newly refurbished office hub location (expected completion in Spring 2022)
• Excellent pension scheme
• Relocation packages available up to £8,000
• Cycle to work scheme
• Family support services
• Wellbeing, Employee support and Counselling services
• Supportive and collaborative working environment in which to develop your career