Planning Enforcement Officer

South Gloucestershire Council; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

South Gloucestershire Council is seeking a Planning Enforcement Officer to help maintain a well-planned and sustainable community. You will manage a varied caseload and contribute to enforcement across the full planning process, from pre-application discussions to post-decision actions.

You will need a planning qualification or degree, strong knowledge of planning law, excellent organization, and clear communication skills to handle diverse inquiries and complex situations.

Qualifications

• Hold a professional planning qualification, a relevant degree (such as urban planning), or demonstrate equivalent planning-related experience.
• Strong understanding of planning legislation and policy interpretation, with ability to interpret complex guidance, negotiate and make balanced decisions.
• Highly organized to manage workloads and deliver high-quality outcomes within timescales.
• Confident communicator, both in conversation and in writing, using diplomacy and decisiveness.

Responsibilities

• Manage a varied caseload of approximately 60-80 planning enforcement cases, from straightforward to complex investigations.
• Oversee the full planning process, from pre-application discussions to post‑decision enforcement activities, negotiating and writing reports.
• Provide high-quality service to internal and external customers, responding to inquiries with professionalism.
• Display decisive decision-making in complex or unprecedented situations.
• Where required, undertake field visits to investigate breaches of planning control.

Education

Planning qualification or degree (urban planning)

Job description

How you'll make a difference

As a Planning Enforcement Officer, you will play a vital role in helping make South Gloucestershire a safe and enjoyable place to live, work and visit. Working as part of a dedicated team, you will contribute to maintaining a high-quality built environment, ensuring that residents and visitors can benefit from well-planned and sustainable communities.

What you will be doing

• It will be your responsibility to manage a varied caseload of approximately 60-80 planning enforcement cases. These will range from straightforward matters to complex investigations and you will work proactively to achieve effective and timely resolutions.
• Your work will span the full planning process, from pre-application discussions through to post-decision enforcement activities. You will be responsible for negotiating, writing reports, interpreting policy and enabling decision making.
• Providing a high-quality service to both internal and external customers, you will respond to a wide range of enquiries with professionalism and expertise.
• You will be expected to display decisive decision-making in complex or unprecedented situations.
• Where required, you will undertake field visits to investigate alleged breaches of planning control.

What we need from you

• We require you to hold a professional planning qualification, a relevant degree (such as urban planning), or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience in a planning-related role.
• You will have a strong understanding of planning legislation and policy interpretation, with the ability to interpret complex guidance, negotiate effectively and make balanced decisions.
• It is essential that you are highly organised, as you will need to manage assigned workloads to deliver high-quality outcomes within agreed timescales.
• You must be a confident communicator, both in conversation and in writing, and can use diplomacy and decisiveness during difficult situations.

What you need to know

• You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.
• This role is hybrid, with a mixture of working at our office in Yate, at home and within the community.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 20th October 2026.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different

• We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work.
• We trust our team to work in the way which allows them to make the biggest difference, and we continue to invest in technology to help staff do their jobs to the best of their ability and celebrate innovation.
• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

We'rebuilding and shaping communities which people are proud of.

We'replanning for the future; building and improving the roads, railways, schools, green spaces, and houses.

We’reproviding essential services across our communities to ensure they are safe and well maintained.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!

Planning Enf Officer job description