We have an exciting new opportunity for an experienced Planning professional to lead and manage the Planning Policy Section at Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council.

We are now embarking on our new Local Plan having completed the Reg 18 stage and are preparing for a further Reg 18 stage in the summer of next year in accordance with our Local Development Scheme. This is an exciting time to join the team and there is a real opportunity to shape the future direction of the local plan and the future of the Borough. Given the stage in plan-making there is also an opportunity to embrace digital planning means and add to our portfolio of digital planning products.

There are demanding times to come – balancing growth and constraints in our new Local Plan; sustaining local economic growth; providing housing that is truly affordable; fostering our important rural economy; working with local communities where disadvantage exists in an otherwise affluent place; help making the best of our excellent education facilities in the Borough; working in an environment where pressures on infrastructure are growing and planning around the concerns of flooding - just to list a few of our current challenges.

Our Borough is partly Green Belt and AONB with a diverse range of towns, villages and countryside. In Tonbridge we have a town centre with major improvement opportunities. The Borough offers a breadth of experience for the professional planner found in few other places, being both a place of high business growth and traditional agricultural characteristics of the Garden of England.

You will have responsibility for the effective running of the Planning Policy section. You will need to be a Member of the RTPI and have experience of development plan preparation with an emphasis on developing new and innovative approaches to policy-making. You may be an experienced manager looking for a challenging new role or an enthusiastic and ambitious senior Planner looking to develop into your first senior management role. What we need is someone who is a self-starter who can work under pressure so that Tonbridge and Malling can continue to be at the forefront of change.

To find our more about the TMBC planning service, visit: Join our planning team – Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (tmbc.gov.uk)

To arrange a time for an informal discussion about this role please contact Christine Anderson, PA to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health on 01732 876257. (Direct candidates only, strictly no agencies).

Closing date 30 November 2023 / Interviews to take place on 11 and 12 December