Principal Planner

• East Suffolk Council: Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1RT or Riverside, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0EQ
• £52,805 - £56,985 per annum, plus essential car user allowance of £963 per annum
• Benefits inclusive of payment of yearly RTPI subscriptions
• 37 hours per week
• Flexible, hybrid working with a good balance between office and home-working
• Permanent

East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work, delivering essential local services and making a real difference to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk.

We currently have an opportunity to join East Suffolk Council's Development Management team as a Principal Planner (Development Management), leading a team of planners in a defined geographical area.

The role

This lead planning role is responsible for the management of a team of planning professionals to support the delivery of the development management service within East Suffolk, as well as manage and assess planning applications and pre-application submissions in accordance with planning law, national and local policy and guidance. You will be a lead contributor in the Planning Referral/Scheme of Delegation and Committee process, forging strong working relations with elected members and key officers across the organisation.

In addition, you will contribute to the wider Development Management Team, supporting colleagues with planning enforcement matters and to deliver planning decisions of all scales whilst also assisting the 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 do not meet all the essential requirements, please apply. We'd 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. To find out more about why we are so proud of East Suffolk Council, take a look at our video and hear why our employees think it is such a great place to work (YouTube).

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.

Find more information about what we offer in our benefits brochure (pdf).

To find out more

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Joe Blackmore, Planning Manager (Development Management), by emailing joe.blackmore@eastsuffolk.gov.uk.

Closing date: 1 pm, 30 April 2025.

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the advert and the Job Description and Person Specification (docx).

Step 2 - Complete the Supporting Statement template (docx). Your statement needs to indicate how you meet each of the criteria contained within the Person Specification. Please use the template provided (other formats will not be accepted).

Step 3 - Complete the online application and upload your statement. Please note, CVs are not accepted.

For more information, check out the How to Apply section of our Career Site (URL).