Planning Jobs

Come and join our Planning Centre of Excellence

Fenland District Council is recruiting to several planning roles as its planning team enters an exciting new era.

The council is strengthening and growing its planning team in development management, planning policy, enforcement, trees and Section 106 functions, with opportunities available in senior positions.

See: All available roles

Senior planning jobs

New roles have become available due to the end of a service level agreement with Peterborough City Council, which previously provided some of our planning services.

We are looking especially for senior team members who have already gained valuable experience and want to take the next step in their career. Competitive salaries and benefits are on offer to the right candidates.

It's a time of great opportunity within the team with the chance for career driven individuals to help shape and influence the future of the team and set themselves on a path of progression.

Discover more and apply at: Current planning opportunities

Benefits for planning officers at Fenland District Council

Benefits for planning professionals at Fenland District Council include:

Competitive pay
Relocation package in some instances
Generous holiday allowance
Excellent defined benefits pension scheme
Hybrid working, with opportunities to work from home as well as out of Chatteris and Wisbech remote offices and Fenland Hall in March
Flexi-time scheme
Car user allowance
Employee well-being and family friendly policies
Free office car parking
Comprehensive Employee Benefits Scheme (including an Employee Assistance Programme and retail discount schemes)
Car lease scheme
Discounted access to leisure facilities
Continuous professional development and payment of professional fees.

If you want to develop your career with a positive and forward-thinking organisation, we would like to hear from you.

What's it like working for Fenland District Council?

Fenland District Council is an award-winning progressive organisation, set in the heart of a scenic and rural landscape in north Cambridgeshire with wide open spaces and skylines.

The district offers affordable house prices, diverse market towns and villages and good transport links to London, Cambridge, Peterborough and the beautiful North Norfolk coast.

Our positive, can-do culture enables us to punch above our weight and empowers staff to go that extra mile in delivering important services for local people.

This is an ideal opportunity for career and professional development within a busy, friendly team dealing with a range of developments and challenges.

About Fenland District Council

Fenland District Council is a dynamic council always working to identify and implement improved ways of working.

We offer flexible and hybrid working, free parking and have offices in Chatteris, March, Whittlesey and Wisbech.

Our head office in March is just a few steps from the train station, which has direct links to destinations including Birmingham New Street, Cambridge, Peterborough, Norwich, Liverpool and Ipswich as well as our other Fenland stations in Manea and Whittlesea. Our rail links provide easy connecting services to London stations.

In 2023, one of Fenland's senior development officers - Danielle Brooke - won a Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) excellence award.

The council was reaccredited with the Cabinet Office's prestigious Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Gold Standard for customer service delivery.

The council was also shortlisted in the nationally-recognised Municipal Journal (MJ) Awards 2023 in the 'Workforce Optimisation' category.

The latest report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, confirmed no complaints against Fenland District Council investigated by it were upheld in the year to March 2023.

Fenland District Council puts the people it serves first. It provides district-wide free car parks and, in 2023, reduced Council Tax .

The council has a 'One Team' culture providing flexibility, mutual support, high performance and staff reward and recognition. The whole team works as one driven by the needs of our communities and the priorities of our residents.

Get in touch to discuss our opportunities

We welcome informal contact from anyone who wishes to discuss the posts before applying. Contact:

Development Manager David Rowen on drowen@fenland.gov.uk or 01354 622587
Principal Development Management Officer Sheila Black on sblack@fenland.gov.uk or 07752 700195

What is Fenland like?

Fenland, in north Cambridgeshire, is a district of characterful market towns, close-knit villages and wide-open fields.

Just a short train journey and 40-minute drive from Cambridge and within easy reach of the beautiful Norfolk coastline, it also has excellent links with nearby Peterborough and Norwich as well as London.

There is a strong sense of community in Fenland, which is blessed with beautiful scenery, endless fields and skies.

Our four charming market towns - Chatteris, March, Whittlesey and Wisbech - offer plenty of amenities, host traditional markets and popular seasonal festivals.

Fenland is a popular place for families, with plenty of good and outstanding schools.

Property in Fenland is very affordable. It's an area where the rural idyll can become a reality, where characterful town houses and unique lifestyle properties are within grasp. The average house price is significantly lower than the UK average and costs less than half the average Cambridge property price.*

Fenland is famous for its expansive flat landscapes. It has plentiful nature reserves and extensive navigable waterways leading into the rest of Cambridgeshire and neighbouring Lincolnshire, with the famous sights of Cambridge and picturesque Ely within reach.

In Fenland, in the ten years to 2021, the population grew slightly more rapidly than in England as a whole, to 102,500, but it remains one of the lower densely populated areas of the East of England**. In Fenland, there's space for you and your loved ones to breathe and grow.

See all planning vacancies

Click through to see: All available planning roles.

* UK House Price Index comparison August 2023

**Office for National Statistics Census 2021