Head of Development Management and Strategic Planning

Head of Development Management and Strategic Planning Employer: Sutton Council Location(s): Sutton Contract Type: Permanent Working Hours: Full Time Grade: 11 Salary Range: £75,144 – £89,730 (£94,092 unconsolidated maximum) Salary Basis: Per annum Leave Entitlement: 32 days Application Deadline: 17/02/2025, 23:55 Anticipated Interview Date(s): Stakeholder Panel (4th March – virtual) and Final Interviews (6th March – face to face) About the Borough: The London Borough of Sutton is home to the London Cancer Hub, Europe’s leading cancer research and treatment district. Sutton is a well-connected, attractive borough in South West London that has a reputation for excellent schools, Green Flag award-winning green and leafy open spaces, and an industrial heritage along the River Wandle. Our Local Plan concentrates new housing in our town and district centres, and seeks to preserve the heritage assets and village feel of parts of the borough. The Council is leading regeneration in Sutton town centre, including a new Civic Hub, new site for Sutton College and new council housing. Sutton’s priority is high quality, well-designed development that meets the highest sustainability credentials and secures affordable housing. Infrastructure provision is of high priority to our residents. Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23. About the Role and our Ideal Candidate: We are seeking a collaborative, proactive leader to deliver Sutton’s corporate objectives whilst securing the highest quality planning decisions. You’ll build highly-regarded and productive relationships with elected members, senior officers, staff, developers and residents. You’ll be experienced at working in a local authority context and confident in providing sound and impartial advice to elected members and senior officers. You’ll be fully supported to grow in this role. We work flexibly, in a hybrid way and expect a presence by you in the office and/or borough for a minimum of two days a week. Getting to know the borough is an important part of the role. About Us: Our planning service performs strongly against government targets for application decision-making, regularly deciding 90% of all reported applications within statutory targets, an appeal success rate which is 84% dismissed and is the fourth-best performing Council in the country in not using Extensions of Time (14% of all reported applications). We have a fully staffed and qualified building control team. Our Local Plan is being updated and will help position Sutton as a key player in attracting inward investment, jobs for our residents and STEM opportunities for our young people in the longer term. We want to be a major player in the Mayor of London’s and Government’s growth agenda. Planning will be key in shaping the Council’s arguments for more investment in Sutton, especially in public transport improvements. We know our residents care about infrastructure alongside development, and our use of s106 and Community Infrastructure Levy from major developments will help ensure they feel and see the benefits too. Our new Local Plan will continue to concentrate new housing in our town and district centres and by diversifying planning uses we will boost footfall and vitality, alongside protecting the distinctive character and heritage of the borough. Within Sutton town centre, works will start this year on around 1,000 new homes on the former B&Q site in Sutton town centre, including 217 social rent council properties. Further consented developments are in the pipeline in Throwley Way and Lodge Place, as well as future proposals for the reuse of Quadrant House and St Nicholas House, along with a scheme to relocate Sutton College to a council-owned site in the High Street to create a ‘Northern Gateway’ and ensure regeneration of this end of the high street. Our recent LGA Corporate Peer Challenge affirmed us as an organisation that has a strong track record of delivery and many achievements to celebrate. The LGA found that staff consistently described Sutton as “friendly, welcoming and focused on communities”. We are also an organisation that values and invests in staff, and is strongly committed to equality, inclusion and diversity. Our population is increasingly diverse, with over 30% of our borough’s population from a multi-ethnic background. We are committed to reflecting the communities we serve in our staff population and have achieved Silver Trailblazer status from Race Equality Matters – the only local authority in the country to achieve this. Our Offer To You: As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across – however big or small – will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team. In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps. Our Flexible Working – Smarter Working Scheme embraces new ways of working. It provides improved work-life balance for our staff as it allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include: Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) Reimbursement of professional membership fees (for this role) Three volunteering days per year in Sutton Comprehensive learning and development programme Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities Interest-free season ticket loans Local Government Pension Scheme Car parking scheme Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme Zip car scheme Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses Confidential wellbeing and counselling support Subsidised gym membership Application Process: We are working with Osborne Thomas as our Recruitment Partners for this role. For full details and to have a conversation about your suitability, please visit their website or contact Lucy Butler at Osborne Thomas for more information – 07935 222 378 / sutton@osbornethomas.org Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application. Additional Information: We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve – the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda. The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Important Information – Political Restrictions: This post has been deemed as politically restricted / sensitive and therefore applicants will be required to declare any interests that may be deemed political as part of their application. #J-18808-Ljbffr