How will the 20% fee rise impact on local authority recruitment?

Gabriella Lee, recruitment sales director, Planning Jobs, comments on the likely impact of the planning application fee rise which comes into force on 17 January.

From 17 January 2018, the long-awaited increase in application fees for planning authorities in England comes into force.

Research conducted last year by Planning, in association with the Planning Officers Society, revealed that council planning departments expected to be able to increase their staff by an average of almost five people over the next two years as a result of the application fees rise.

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 government announcement in February 2017.

More jobs and opportunities for the planning sector

Many local authorities have been planning ahead for the fee rise and will be ready to launch their recruitment drives immediately or in the near future.

“The fee rise coming into force spells great news for the planning recruiters and for careers in the planning sector”, says Gabriella Lee, recruitment sales director at Planning Jobs.

“Here at Planning Jobs we have already seen an increase in the number of local authorities looking to invest in their planning departments, either through direct hiring or restructuring. Now that the fee rise has come into force we expect to see even more jobs and more opportunities for the planning sector overall.”

Demonstrate why your organisation is a great place to work

In response, the team at Planning Jobs 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,” says Lee.

Planning Jobs has also launched a new initiative to get local authorities and planning consultancies enthused about showcasing their employer brand, called Wonderful Workplaces. The bespoke careers content will be hosted in a dedicated Wonderful Workplaces hub on the Planning Jobs careers advice section. Click here to find out more about the campaign.

If you are recruiting planning professionals, be sure to contact our specialist sales executive, Alexa Wilson, on 020 8267 4086 or alexa.wilson@haymarket.com to discuss how you can work with Planning Jobs to support your recruitment campaign or employer branding initiative.