Senior Planner/Planning Manager

Persimmon Homes; Lancaster; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life Cover & Contributory Pension

Employee Benefits Platform

Bonus

Job summary

Persimmon Homes in Lancaster is seeking a Senior Planner/Planning Manager to convert land interests into planning consents and grow the land reserves. You will engage with landowners, public and private sector professionals, politicians, developers and residents to support regional growth.

You’ll lead planning submissions, manage applications and coordinate with internal teams and external consultants, shaping medium- and long-term development strategies.

Qualifications

• Experience leading on planning applications in private or public sector roles.
• RTPI-accredited planning degree with broad planning knowledge.
• Ability to adapt to change and work under pressure.
• Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Willingness to contribute in a busy commercial office.

Responsibilities

• Produce site assessments, analyze planning histories and new site appraisals to protect company interests.
• Plan and manage different types of planning applications from Outline/Full to Reserved Matters.
• Liaise with layout designers, external consultants and local authorities to build effective relationships.
• Instruct and input Design & Access Statements and other planning documents for timely, accurate submissions.
• Organise supporting information and attend stakeholder/public consultations with professionalism.
• Formulate planning strategies to promote development sites and maintain a regional pipeline.
• Assist the Director when making key business decisions and attend meetings as the subject expert.

Skills

Planning expertise

Leadership experience

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

RTPI-accredited planning degree

Job description

Job Title: Senior Planner/Planning Manager

Location: Lancaster, LA1

Looking for a career where your ambition meets real opportunity? Join Persimmon Homes as Senior Planner/Planning Manager and step into a role where your success is celebrated, your growth supported, and your work truly matters.

Why Persimmon Homes?

We’re one of the UK’s largest and most established housebuilders — FTSE 100 listed, with 29 regional offices and thousands of quality homes built every year.

At Persimmon, we don’t just build homes — we build careers. When you join us as Senior Planner/Planning Manager you’ll benefit from:

• 5* housebuilder - Be part of a company that consistently delivers quality homes and outstanding customer satisfaction
• Life Cover & Contributory Pension
• Bonus
• Employee Benefits Platform – giving you access to high-street discounts, wellbeing support, and more
• Committed to diversity, inclusion, and empowering your development

What is the role?

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Planner / Planning Manager to join the Team in the Lancashire regional office. This role typicaly reports to the Planning Director. The key responsibilities of the role will be to convert our land interests into planning consents as well as growing and developing our land reserves. It involves working with a diverse range of people, including landowners, public and private sector professionals, politicians, developers and local residents.

The successful candidate will be responsible for a programme of planning promotion and planning submissions whilst being expected to take a leading role in the formulation and submission of planning applications large and small to support the growth of the business.

What you’ll do as a Senior Planner/Planning Manager

• Production of / Input into site assessments, detailed examination of planning histories, policy analysis, interpretation and consideration of material considerations, and new site appraisals for immediate and strategic sites to maintain the relationship with the Land team and protect the interests of the company
• Prepare and project manage different types of planning applications from Outline/Full and Reserved Matters accurately so that the Region can grow their active outlets
• Liaise and brief internal layout designers, external consultants and officers at Local Planning Authorities prior, during and post submission in order to develop effective working relationships
• Instruct and input into Design & Access Statements and a range of other planning documents required to support applications accurately and on time so the business can continue to gain positive planning consents
• Organise supporting information and attend required stakeholder/public consultation events with professionalism at all times to build confidence with the general public
• Formulating planning strategies to promote medium and long term development sites through the plan-making process to continue a pipeline of new sites for the region
• On occasion provide assistance to the Director when making key business decisions and attend meetings as the relevant subject expert

What experience do I need?

• Experience of leading on the management of planning applications whether that be in a private or public sector role
• Degree / Masters Planning Degree with an RTPI accreditation and a rounded knowledge of planning
• Ability to adapt to change and to work accurately and efficiently under pressure
• Enthusiastic, hardworking individual who is willing to show their initiative working as part of a small team in a busy commercial office
• Professional communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills are essential