Planning Manager

Our client, a leading strategic land promoter, is seeking an experienced Senior Planner to join their growing team, taking a lead role in progressing sites through the planning system from allocation to consent.

Key Responsibilities:

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• Lead the preparation and submission of outline and detailed planning applications for strategic residential-led sites
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• Manage multi-disciplinary consultant teams (highways, ecology, landscape, heritage, drainage) to deliver planning strategies on time and on budget
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• Promote sites through Local Plan processes, including Call for Sites submissions, Regulation 18/19 representations, and Examination in Public participation
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• Build and maintain relationships with Local Planning Authorities, Members, and key stakeholders to de-risk and accelerate consents
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• Negotiate Section 106 agreements and CIL matters alongside legal and commercial colleagues
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• Instruct and manage Counsel and expert witnesses for public inquiries and hearings where required
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• Monitor planning policy changes (NPPF, local plan reviews) and assess implications for the land portfolio
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• Support land acquisition teams with planning due diligence and site appraisal for new opportunities
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• Present planning strategies and risk assessments to internal investment committees
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• Mentor junior planners and contribute to the wider team's technical development
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Experience & Requirements:

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• Degree in Town Planning or related discipline; RTPI membership (or working towards) preferred
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• 5+ years' post-qualification experience, ideally within a land promotion, housebuilder, or planning consultancy environment
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• Demonstrable track record of securing consents on strategic sites (100+ units)
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• Strong working knowledge of Local Plan processes and plan-making
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• Experience presenting at Planning Committee and/or Public Inquiry
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• Excellent stakeholder management skills, comfortable engaging with council officers, elected members, and communities
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• Commercially minded, with an understanding of viability and land value implications of planning strategy
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• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across the site portfolio
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