Principal Planner (Major Sites)

£41,418 - £50,512 per annum (career grade)

East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work and a great place to make a real difference to people’s lives, delivering vital services to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk.

We currently have an exciting opportunity to join the East Suffolk Council's growing Major Projects Planning team as a Principal Planner.

Your role

This lead planning role will focus on the delivery of allocated strategic scale sites and supporting infrastructure. With two recently adopted local plans the council is fulfilling its ambitions for growth by working to secure the timely submission of legally compliant applications, planning permissions and their implementation to meet the requirements of the Development Plan. The role will involve a considerable place shaping responsibility for several new Garden Village and Garden Neighbourhood communities for up to 2000 homes. Achieving high-quality, well-designed places will be a leading responsibility alongside addressing environmental effects and mitigation, both locally and cumulatively in the district.

You will lead the planning process for the delivery of strategic sites and garden neighbourhoods/villages across the district. This includes project management across teams as part of a single Planning Team approach that will include colleagues from other organisation/bodies, as necessary, to present a single point of contact with the site promoters to ensure a co-ordinated and effective interaction between all parties.

In addition, you will contribute to the wider Development Management Team, supporting colleagues to deliver planning decisions of all scales whilst also assisting Infrastructure Team to support infrastructure delivery through CIL, s106 and with external bodies. You will have a strong eye for urban design and good environmental awareness in decision making including experience of Environmental Impact Assessments.

What you will need:

With a recognised and appropriate planning qualification, and membership of the RTPI (or immediately working towards submission of your APC), you will have extensive post qualification experience in planning, specifically in the design and delivery of residential development and infrastructure delivery, giving sound knowledge of the planning system and planning law, as well as experience of leading on major planning applications.

If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t meet all of the essential requirements, please apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

Why work for us?

East Suffolk Council is a great place to work and there are lots of benefits our employees can access.

Here are some of the main benefits:

• Generous leave entitlement (equivalent to 25 days a year, increasing to 31 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays) 
• Local government pension scheme 
• Flexible working arrangements 
• Learning and development tailored to your role 
• A wide variety of staff support networks including access to health and wellbeing initiatives and programmes. 
• Discounts on mobile phones, computers, holiday and travel, fashion and clothing, health and beauty and many other products and services. 

Please see our benefits brochure for further information.

The majority of our teams are working in an agile way, with a mixture of home and office working, depending on individual preferences and service requirements. If you wish to discuss how that might impact your working arrangements if you were successful, please contact the recruiting manager listed below. 

Please read the job description and person specification before applying for this job.

To find out more

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Ben Woolnough, Head of Planning, Building Control and Coastal Management at: ben.woolnough@eastsuffolk.gov.uk or by phone on: 07833 406681

How to apply:

To apply, please complete the online application and upload your supporting statement on our website by clicking on the 'apply button'

Closing date: 1pm, 29 August 2024.

East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work and a great place to make a real difference to people’s lives, delivering vital services to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk.

We hugely value our staff and know that in order for us to remain successful, it is essential for us to recognise talented employees, developing and retaining them within the organisation. We are therefore committed to investing in our staff and providing first-class support to ensure a positive culture and rewarding careers.