Planning and Highways Lawyer

Halton; Widnes; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday 34 days

LGPS pension

Life cover 3x

Personal development

Free car parking

Flexible working

Employee benefits

Essential car user allowance

Job summary

Halton Borough Council is seeking an experienced Planning, Highways & Property lawyer to provide advice to Officers and Members and manage a caseload in planning and highways matters.

You will draft and negotiate complex property documents, advise on section 106 and other agreements, and help shape policy and regeneration across the borough. The role offers hybrid working and is based in Cheshire.

Qualifications

• Responsibilities are focused on planning and highways law within local government.

Responsibilities

• Advise Officers and Members on statute, case law and policy for planning, including development management and enforcement.
• Advise on highways matters, including rights of way, diversions and traffic orders.
• Draft and negotiate property legal documents for housing and regeneration; advise on Compulsory Purchase matters.
• Research developments in the law to ensure timely, responsive services.
• Deliver training for Members and Officers to improve service quality.

Job description

Our Story:

Halton is a vibrant local authority with a rich history and heritage, featuring two iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as close proximity to both Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports. Our progressive community strategy aims to bring about meaningful, long-term improvements that enhance lives. It’s an exciting time to join us as we develop new policies and transform the way people access services. We are immensely proud that when asked what’s great about working for Halton, the most popular response from our workforce has been ‘our colleagues’.

Our Team:

Legal Services supports every area of the Council, delivering expert advice across a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters. Within the department, our Corporate and Governance team is responsible for providing practical legal solutions and advice to internal client departments, as well as working with external stakeholders.

Reporting to the Principal Solicitor, you will manage your own caseload of Planning and Highways matters and provide legal advice to officers and members on the Council’s planning and highways functions. You will also advise the Council’s Boards, Committees, Panels, and Groups of Members to ensure that policy and operational decisions are taken on a sound legal basis and in the most effective and beneficial way.

Hours: 37 per week. Hybrid working

Your Contributions:

Our Planning, Highways & Property Lawyer will provide advice to Officers and Members of the Council on all manner of Planning and Highways queries, as well as bringing and defending litigation including appeals, Judicial Reviews, and Statutory Reviews. Possessing excellent communication skills, you will draft and advise on a variety of legal documentation including section 106, unilateral, section 278 and section 38 agreements, as well as ensuring that policy and operational decisions are taken on a sound legal basis. You will work collaboratively with the Planning and Highways departments to ensure the Council delivers innovative building projects, new developments, and regeneration across the Borough, engaging with external partners and other stakeholders along the way. You may also have the opportunity to engage in Property work where experience and personal interest allow.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing advice to Officers and Members on statute, case law, and policy for the Council’s planning functions, including development management and enforcement.
• Providing advice to Officers and Members on the Council’s highways functions, including public rights of way, stopping up and diversion orders, traffic regulation orders and any general highway queries.
• Drafting and negotiating property legal documentation to assist with the delivery of housing and regeneration projects and to provide strategic advice in relation to Compulsory Purchase matters.
• Identifying, researching, and anticipating the effects on service provision of new developments in the law to ensure that clients are able to deliver timely and responsive services.
• Delivering training for Members, Officers, and Legal Services staff and to participate in recognised national and regional group activities to improve understanding of legal and service issues and the quality of service provision.

Our Offer:

Aside from working with a great team, our employees have access to a fantastic range of benefits, including:

• A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long servicewith the option to purchase an additional four-days of unpaid leave for our Annual Christmas Closedown
• Membership of our defined benefit, salary-linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
• 3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension Scheme
• Investment in your personal development
• Free Car Parking at HBC sites
• Flexible working arrangements
• Extensive employee benefits platform including discounted shopping, car leasing, gym memberships, wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme
• Essential car user allowance

At Halton Borough Council we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce and a vital part of this is to encourage diversity in all respects. We are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier‑free and tailored to best suit the needs and strength of the individual. This includes making adjustments for people with a disability, neurodiversity or with long‑term health conditions. If you require accommodations, please reach out during the recruitment process so that we can make this the best possible experience for you – [e-mail] refer to the attached Job Profile for further information about the role and our values.