Area Lead - Planning

Salary: £55,000 per annum (remuneration package includes recruitment allowance of £7,246 per annum for a period of up to 3 years)

Department: Planning and Transport

Working pattern: Full Time

Location: Somerset

About the job

Acting as the Lead Officer and Manager for two of the four Area Planning Committees, you will be leading two area teams of Officers focused on delivering high quality development in Somerset. The service registered 14,300 different types of application in a year in 2022/23 and on this measure is the largest local planning authority in England.

Key roles for this position would include:

1. Acting as the Lead Officer for two development management area teams, providing a high quality, customer focused, development management function, responsible for determining planning and relevant applications.
2. Ensuring applications are professionally managed to determination from pre-application stage through to implementation and compliance in accordance with the Councils constitution and agreed scheme of delegation.
3. Directly line managing and mentoring the Principal Planning Officers and the team below to ensure effective management and all issues affecting team performance and individual welfare are identified and acted upon.
4. Support the Service Manager of Planning to improve and streamline planning across Somerset.

The scale of the authority is significant, as is the skill set of the existing team and the variety of surrounding development management experience.

Within Somerset we have a huge breadth of work, and plenty of interesting projects. These currently include:

1. Local Development Orders
2. Development Consent Orders
3. Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects
4. Major residential and Commercial developments
5. Our Emerging Local Plan

We also have a successful history of gaining Levelling up and Homes England funding - which means there will be a range of new things to work on in the coming years as we deliver key community facilities, infrastructure and public realm improvements.

Given the size of the area and the team there is a full range of experience for peer support or shadowing through processes that you have not yet experienced. You will be directly managed by a Chief Planning Officer and support the Planning Services Manager in delivering a high quality and improvement driven service.

As the second largest and newly formed Unitary we are also actively leading on improvement projects throughout the service and are engaging with staff to influence the outcomes. We are working to combine the best practices of 4 former Districts and a County to streamline processes and present a unified front.

All this means that you'll have the chance to develop your experience and skills with us the range of which will be difficult to match elsewhere.

About you

We are looking for a Chartered Planner, a qualified and/or experienced manager in development management who can demonstrate leadership, support and a pro growth mind set. Experience of strategic and operational management to deliver the Council's corporate objectives would be beneficial. Clear communication, problem solving and negotiation skills are required to mentor staff, build relationships with elected members and local agents.

The right candidate should have experience of Public Inquiries, planning committee and be comfortable presenting to elected members, parish/town/city councils, agent panels, senior leadership and staff.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you:

1. Educated to degree level, ideally in planning, geography or a related subject.
2. Chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) or eligible to be a member.
3. Management Qualification ILM/CMI 5 or higher.

We're proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

The ability to shape a mould the future planning service for Somerset within a team that offers a supportive and rewarding environment. The team are passionate about the work they do and work collaboratively to ensure the best outcome for all, to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

The Senior leadership is in place for Somerset and is establishing a direction of travel and clear ambitions of service improvements. The Chief Planning Officer and Service Manager are Chartered Planners with significant Development Management experience to support and expand the team. There will be clear peer support if/when required enabling better outcomes for all.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

1. We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
2. Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
3. Staff discounts in gyms.
4. Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
5. Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
6. A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
7. My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

Additional information

The Salary for the Area Lead role is Grade 8, £55,000 per annum, which includes a remuneration package of £7,246 per annum for up to 3 years.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Dawn deVries via email at

Interviews will be held between March 26th - 28th 2025.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can't wait to hear from you.