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What qualifications do you have?
I have a BA (hons) in Urban Studies and Planning and a postgraduate diploma in Town and Regional Planning from Sheffield University.
What is your current job title?
Senior planner at CB Richard Ellis.
How and why did you enter your current career?
I enjoyed geography at school, but wasn't aware of any particular career that it could lead to. I think it was a school careers adviser who suggested town planning as a career.
What does your job involve?
Most of my work involves advising developers and landowners, with the focus on securing planning consent for their schemes. Being a planner consultant is like being a broker: our clients have a vision for their site, the council has another and we try to align these visions. We advise our clients of the planning risk associated with their proposals and find ways of mitigating this. We then work with our client and the council to find a solution that is acceptable to both and maximises the chances of planning consent being awarded.
What skills and knowledge do you need to be successful in your job?
Sound technical knowledge and the need to keep up with policy and legislative changes - as well as case law and changes in allied professions - are all important. It is also key to be able to listen, build relationships and have good communication skills.
What are the best and worst points about your job?
As a private sector planner, the best thing about my job is being able to help shape developments at an early stage and feed into the design process. Working for CB Richard Ellis is great because I get to deal with clients undertaking large schemes at a relatively early stage in my career. I least enjoy having to advise clients when their plans have limited chance of success. On the positive side, by telling them this early on we can save time and effort, and hopefully help find a better alternative solution.
How do you feel your career might progress in future?
It would be nice to specialise and build up expertise in a particular area, but I'm not yet sure what I would want this to be.
What advice do you have for students and graduates interested in a career as a town planner?
Get some relevant experience as soon as you can. I learned more in my first four months of work that I did in four years at university. Under the localism agenda, planning will increasingly need to consider the wider benefits schemes can bring to a community. Current students should try and ensure they choose modules that include community engagement and graduates looking for work should ensure they know the latest policy and legislative developments.
Rebecca Maxwell is a senior planner at CB Richard Ellis in London. If you would like to contribute articles, profiles, event reports or photos, please contact jamie.birtles@aecom.com
Planning
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