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Planning Officer

Cheshire West and Chester Council brings a fresh and energetic approach to providing top quality services for its many customers and communities. Our busy and friendly planning team welcomes motivated and skilled individuals to join us working on a wide variety of planning applications and help us deliver high quality, sustainable development across the borough. 

Whilst some experience of working within a planning environment would be advantageous, our commitment to training, support and professional development means this post is also suitable for graduates at the very start of their planning careers.  

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a progressive employer offering a range of employee benefits and help and guidance from some of the best planners in the area. 

This is a career grade post spanning three pay grades from Grade 6-8, with flexibility for the right candidate to build on a previous role within the industry, put existing planning qualifications to good use, or even embark on an exciting new career. Starting salary will depend on existing qualifications and levels of experience. 

Why not come and help us achieve our ambition of building greener, fairer and stronger communities for all? 

Organisation
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Location
Ellesmere Port
Job Category
Environmental and Public Services
Grade
Please refer to advert text
Salary Min
£28,598 Per Annum
Salary Max
£39,152 Per Annum
Hours per week
37
Weeks per year
52.143
Employment Type
Permanent
Closing Date
05/04/2026
Ref No
W4407

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment.

Our borough features a rich and varied landscape, with a wide range of urban and rural communities including the main centres of Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Winsford. We are a friendly, supportive and innovative planning team dealing with around 4000 planning applications each year, offering the opportunity to get involved in a great variety of development proposals benefitting the social, economic and environmental diversity of the area whilst protecting the countryside and Green Belt and preserving and enhancing our distinct heritage - including the beautiful walled city of Chester with its concentration of listed buildings and Area of Archaeological Importance. 

Your main responsibility will be to manage and determine applications for planning permission, but from time to time you will also get opportunities to assist our planning enforcement and planning policy teams. You will demonstrate the ability to work as part of our friendly and committed team of planners and support staff, be an excellent communicator, and be well-organised with a clear commitment to providing outstanding customer service. In return, our innovative and supportive way of working offers high levels of trust and autonomy to make decisions and manage your own workload. 

This is a hybrid worker role, meaning that your working time will be split between home and our new offices in Ellesmere Port. We are committed to flexible working practices and promoting a healthy work/life balance. 

To carry out site visits and attend remote meetings, you will also need a full UK Driving Licence and access to a car.    

Cheshire West and Chester is a dynamic, high performing council delivering great outcomes for its residents through its people.  If you are interested in joining our committed and innovative planning team, we look forward to hearing from you. 

Interested to find out more? 

If you are interested in this post and require more details after reading the job description or just to chat through the role and what’s involved, please contact: 

Nick Smith, Planning Team Manager, at nick.smith2@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see www.cwcrecruitment.co.uk 

No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you! 

Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment.  Please see the Equality Policy for more information. 

Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £10.90 per hour for all contracted hours. 

For any technical enquiries please email Sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk and quote job reference number in all correspondence. 

Please note that this job is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see www.cwcrecruitment.co.uk

No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment.  Please see the Equality Policy for more information.

Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £12.60 per hour for all contracted hours.

For any technical enquiries please email Sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk and quote job reference number in all correspondence.

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