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Senior Planning Officer

Employer
Ashford Borough Council
Location
Ashford, Kent
Salary
£34,296 - £38,178
Closing date
22 Mar 2019

View more

Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Discipline
Development Control, Planning
Function
Officer, Planner
Sector
Local Authority

Do you want to work in one of the most desirable places in the UK?

Ashford Borough Council is located at the heart of the Garden of England and offers the best of town and country. With a thriving and dynamic town it is situated in the heart of the region’s most enchanting countryside.

Being only 38 minutes from London, Ashford is a very vibrant and attractive place to live and work, with a busy town centre and leisure offer, spacious and affordable housing and plenty of business space to grow.

The offices are located in parkland adjacent to the Stour Leisure Centre and near other local amenities, with the town centre and Ashford International Station a few minutes walk away. With a very friendly atmosphere in the open plan offices the council are very focused on employee wellbeing and promoting good physical and mental health.

The council are committed to ensuring a healthy work and home life balance and offer flexible working as well as working from home.

You will need to be able to drive and have access to a vehicle in order to conduct site visits. We have free parking for employees and you will also receive an annual car allowance or subsidised lease car.

The Role

To be responsible to the respective Joint Development Control Manager and assist in providing a high quality, customer-focused planning service delivering timely and quality decisions by acting as or supervising other case officers.

Main Duties

To work flexibly as part of a multi-disciplinary team on a range of planning and development tasks focusing on more complex householder applications the validation of all types of applications and other development as required.

To carry out a range of planning work covering enforcement, development management, design, policy and other development issues; to enable the unit to respond flexibly to the changing demands it faces.

To be responsible for completing and overseeing the processing of planning applications and proposals at all stages of the planning process including preparation of written and other statements for planning appeals.

To be responsible for leading, mentoring and the day-to-day management of the householder and validation team; including supervision of staff, performance management, signing off delegated decisions and identifying training needs.

To process related planning enforcement matters and appeals as necessary. To carry out/assist in the investigation of enforcement issues on sites having regard to all material considerations. To monitor developments for compliance with planning permissions including related conditions.

To be responsible for, and supervise case officers in, assessing the adequacy of submitted plans and documents and following up consultations.

To be responsible for the processing and monitoring of the work of case officers as necessary to ensure timely and consistent decisions.

Respond to enquiries including more complex queries, advising on all aspects of the planning process and procedure.

To actively support and deputise for the Joint Development Control Manager as appropriate to the role; working alongside and supporting all senior and principal planners to ensure delivery of the service objectives.

Contributing to the review of processes and procedures for the delivery of the service. Contributing to the formulation and development of Planning Policy.

Maintain an awareness of legal developments and Council policies relating to planning in general and development management in particular, cascading to the householder and validation team as necessary.

To liaise with members, applicants, agents, developers, consultees, objectors, etc, to discuss and negotiate on proposals, including visits to sites and correspondence.

Draft and prepare delegated and Committee reports for submission to the team leader for sign off. To assess the written reports of other team members and sign off or pass to Team Leader as appropriate.

As required to undertake any other day to day work on all aspects of development management within the team, subject to ability and experience.

To attend meetings of the Planning Committee, Parish Councils, Cabinet and other user and interest groups, presenting applications and reports as required.

To plan, programme and prioritise own work and that of the team in order to meet deadlines, targets and timetables.

To attend meetings and undertake site visits including outside normal working hours and being part of a rota system to cover urgent enforcement issues when required.

Salary

The salary on offer is depending on experience but will be between £34,296 - £38,178.

Looking to relocate?

If the above hasn’t persuaded you to apply yet, we are offering a very generous relocation package (up to a maximum of £5,000) with details available on request.

For further information or to apply for this role please contact Kevin O’Shea at Carrington West on 02393876034 or kevin.oshea@carringtonwest.com

 

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