Highway Development Control Manager

About the job

Salary: £53,460 - £56,681 a year plus £3,203 car benefit allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

We are seeking an experienced and knowledgeable Highway Development Control Manager to play a key role in shaping development that impacts the public highway.

In this role, you will be responsible for the day-to-day review of planning applications, providing clear, well-reasoned, written responses on proposals that affect the public highway. You will act as a trusted technical advisor, offering expert highway and transport advice to planning case officers and the Development Management Committee, and supporting the authority through meetings and planning appeals.

You will lead negotiations with developers and development partners on agreements associated with Sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act 1980, and Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This will ensure that highway works linked to new developments are delivered to the required standards and are in the public interest.

The role also includes strategic oversight responsibilities. You will oversee the updating and maintenance of adopted highway and public rights-of-way records, ensuring accuracy and compliance with statutory requirements. In addition, you will provide management oversight of the Flood Risk and Resilience Manager, supporting the integration of flood-risk considerations into the development control process.

This is an excellent opportunity for a professional with strong technical expertise, negotiation skills, and leadership experience to influence high-quality development and help safeguard the safety, resilience, and functionality of the highway network.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

You will have substantial experience in Highway Development Control and civil engineering, with a strong understanding of highway legislation and regulatory frameworks. You will be experienced in managing and negotiating highway-related legal agreements and advising on the adoption of new highway infrastructure. You will be confident managing multiple workstreams, producing clear and concise technical reports, and applying sound professional judgement on complex issues.

With strong communication and influencing skills, you will work effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including developers and contractors, to ensure compliance with highways, traffic management, and health and safety legislation. A degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience is essential.

About us

Our ambitiousLuton 2040 Vision– that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application Process

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How to apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: PREF101894 202003 M5 Highways Development Control Planning Manager CG.AS Final 27.01.25.pdf
• download: Luton_Values_Flyer.pdf