Job Details
Job Purpose:
Senior Planning Officers/Conservation Officers play a key role in the development management service, with a significant level of responsibility for decision making. Postholders will be expected to be able to deal with and decide a wide range of applications, seeing them through from pre-application stage through to determination on behalf of the Council and discharge of any conditions imposed. This work will involve close working with other Council teams, such as housing, legal and highways, and with external partners, such as Highways England, agents for major house builders, and the Council’s Top 100 companies in Wiltshire to deliver schemes that benefit local residents and create attractive places to live and work in.
Senior Officers are also expected to be able to mentor and train new entrants to the planning profession, and newly qualified staff. They will be required to monitor the work of planning/conservation officers (new entrants to the profession including trainees; apprentices and unqualified staff) to ensure consistency, accuracy and quality. Following the concept of ‘growing your own’ staff the Senior Planners will contribute to the development of planning/conservation officers so that they achieve membership to the RTPI or IHBC and sustain the planning and building conservation professions. This supervision can extend to assisting team leaders in their preparation for staff appraisals as part of the Council’s staff development.
Senior Officers are required to provide professional advice on development management and building conservation matters to Members, Council Officers, other professionals and members of the public in order to ensure that the demands and priorities of the Development Management Service are met. They are required to deal with all levels of planning and listed building applications including minerals and waste, major and complex applications, making recommendations thereon, appeals and other correspondence , presenting to the Area and Strategic Planning Committees and appearing as a professional/expert witness at hearings or public Inquiries, including taking the lead in organising the Council’s defence of its decision, and to determine applications in accordance with the council’s approved scheme of delegation to officers.
To be responsible for the day to day delivery of a range of statutory and non statutory planning and conservation duties. These range from determining planning, minerals and waste,listed building and certificates of lawful use (proposed or existing); dealing with prior approvals and notifications; determining whether permission is necessary under the Planning Acts or Listed Building and Conservation Acts; determining whether enforcement action would be necessary or expedient, determining the need for and scope of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and assessing any EIAs that are received.
The Senior Officers report to a Team Leader who may not be based at the same work hub as the postholder. The work carried out by a Senior Officer may be in any part of the county, dependent on the workflow generated by applications.
A significant proportion of the work done by the post holder is carried out away from the office, including working from home and occasionally outside of normal office hours.
Specific duties and responsibilities include:
• To determine all types of planning, minerals and waste and listed building applications focusing on the most major and complex applications from receipt to determination making decisions and/or recommendations for delegation or determination by Committee, within the performance target timetables. This will include determination of applications that planning officers have made recommendations on, checking before determination that the recommendation is in accordance with the council’s Development Plan, Scheme of Delegation and national planning policy. As a Senior Officer, you will be expected to exercise responsibility to resolve through negotiation with internal and external partners issues that may arise, and to secure improvements to schemes to ensure that they meet the Council’s aims.
• To support and assist the Team Leaders in the provision of an efficient and effective development management service by the mentoring of other development management officers including the monitoring and direction of their workload. Including:
– Contributing to the setting and monitoring work performance of planning/conservation officers to develop the skills of the team and ensure continuous professional development.
In a mentoring role the postholder will appraise and assess the progress of more junior staff. The planning/conservation Officers will refer complex enquiries to the Senior Officers within the teams, seeking advice and guidance on a range of planning matters. The postholder may also contribute to the completion of assessment sheets required for an officer to become a member of the RTPI or IHBC
• Provide planning/heritage asset advice and assistance to elected members and senior council officers in other services. The post holder will be a key service contact and liaison point for members and officers with queries on casework, agendas and meetings.
• To negotiate, co-ordinate and secure contributions to community infrastructure to be secured through legal agreements (for example affordable housing, public open space, education contributions), involving liaison with applicants and their advisors, other business areas, external consultees and other third parties.
• Assist Team Leaders and the Head of Development Management with the review and implementation of any improvements to the practices and procedures of dealing with planning
• To appear at and to present reports to the Area or Strategic Planning Committee and to respond to any queries raised by Members and to give advice.
• To liaise with other specialist teams within the service and other Council Departments to provide a co-ordinated cross Council approach to the control of development – for example – building control, enforcement, public protection, highways, housing, legal.
• To provide pre-application advice to developers on major projects, ensuring that the views of the Council’s partners and in-house officers are effectively communicated and that major legal decisions on the need for environmental impact assessment, scoping opinions and similar matters are taken with due regard to the requirements of European and UK law.
• To interpret often complex planning and heritage legislation and policy in order to give specialist advice to offer effective pre application advice (discussions prior to a planning application being submitted) with a view to securing quality outcomes and added value, respond to general planning queries from individuals and developers within established time-scales. Advice given to developers, architects, planning consultants, landowners and members of the public
• Preparation of appeal statements and proofs of evidence, representing the Council’s case at hearings and appearing as the Council’s expert planning or conservation witness at public inquiries including the defence of the council against costs at informal hearings. The Appeal Inquiry is a quasi-judicial process with an independent Inspector assessing the opposing cases being put by the Council and appellant. These are very formal in structure an involve cross-examination by the Inspector and appellant (often represented by a Barrister or QC). Senior Officers may be expected to take the lead officer role, coordinating the Council’s defense, liaising with legal services and seeking the input of any external consultants and internal consultees required.
• Out-of-hours visits for unanticipated circumstances where potential breaches of planning/listed building regulations occur in the evenings or over weekends which cannot await a response – for example where a listed building is being damaged or demolished, or destroyed by fire and advice is required by the Fire Service / Building Control on imminent demolition works. The officer is authorised to take whatever action is appropriate.
• Advise, comment and make recommendations with regard to policy formulation. To contribute towards the preparation and compilation of Local Development Framework Policies, Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD’s) and Design and Development Briefs
Umbrella Rate – £35.00
