Fee rises: How will they impact on local authority planning jobs?

Jonathan Whitehead, recruitment sales manager, Planning Jobs, comments on the impact of local authority fee rise plans from July 2017

From July 2017, local authorities will be able to increase fees by 20 per cent if they ‘commit to invest the additional fee income in their planning department’, according to a recent government announcement. 

A consultation response document, published alongside the Housing White Paper, says that “the majority of respondents, from all sectors, supported increasing planning fees, often citing concerns about resourcing in local authority planning departments”.

The document says that, alongside the proposed rise in fees, “we will continue to engage with areas interested in reforming their planning service and committing to performance improvements, in return for greater fee flexibility”.

More jobs and opportunities for the planning sector

This spells good news for recruitment and careers in the planning sector.

Jonathan Whitehead, recruitment sales manager, Planning Jobs, comments: “Since the government announced their plans to allow councils to increase their fees, we have seen a marked increase in the number of local authorities looking to invest in their planning departments. 

“Whether through direct hiring or restructuring, that means more jobs and more opportunities for the planning sector.”

Show candidates the benefits of working at your organisation

In response, the team at Planning has developed a new end-to-end recruiter service that guarantees quality applicants using all our extensive market reach for a single fixed fee. The service is called Planning Hire and it’s delivered by Planning Jobs. 

“Leveraging the full Planning brand portfolio, we can ensure our clients have access to the full audience of planning professionals who use the site each month. With Planning Hire, we can reach out to them all - not just those individuals actively seeking new roles now.”

If you are recruiting planning professionals, be sure to call our specialist account manager Keith Cross on 020 8267 8262 to discuss how you can reach our 18,000 candidates.*

*Average number of unique users between 01/01/17 and 31/03/17

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