Principal Planning Officer

Team:PND - Strategic Delivery Team (Development Management)

Job Family: Enabling – CBG13

Salary: £51,471 - £55,585 per annum plus £3,000 MRS per annum

Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.

Contract type: Hybrid - Permanent

Closing Date: 14th October 2026 (Please submit your application as early as possible, as we reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive sufficient suitable applications).

Interview Date: w/c 19th October 2026

About the role:

The Council’s vision and values are integral to everything we do. Our aim is to make Central Bedfordshire ‘A great place to live and work’ that is why we believe this is a great place to continue your planning career.

The Council has an ambitious agenda with significant growth planned over the next 20 years and has started working on a new Local Plan. The growth will be delivered in a number of strategic locations, as well as some small to medium growth in existing towns and villages where services can support it. Our plan is about creating communities.

This means planning for new and improved roads and transport infrastructure; and new community facilities and services, such as schools, nurseries, shops, sport and leisure facilities. As a Principal Planning Officer, you will play a big part in achieving this vision. With businesses and communities depending on your skills, you will find your greatness using your professional expertise in resolving planning projects and managing a caseload of planning applications to achieve high quality developments. In your role, you will manage a caseload of complex applications, in addition to leading the management of strategic development sites.

To apply for the Principal Planning Officer role you will need extensive experience of working within Development Management and hold a valid driving licence and have access to a car as travel is essential.

Our Offer

We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer.  We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

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You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.

Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact:  Stuart Robinson at [email removed]  or call [phone removed].  

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To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.

More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council

All new starters will join us on a four‑month probationary period. During this time, if you are offered a Hybrid role you will be required to attend a Central Bedfordshire Council office location more frequently to support thorough and well‑supported onboarding into your role. Please keep this in mind if you anticipate extensive travel to Central Bedfordshire.