Planning Alliance to appoint programme manager

The Planning Alliance, a multi-disciplinary group including the Home Builders Federation, has begun the process of hiring a programme manager to lead on an action plan to improve public sector planning.

The Planning Alliance initiative is being managed by the Planning Officers Society (POS), with the support of a core group including the HBF, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Planning Advisory Service, the British Property Federation and the London Planning Alliance.

Within the group’s action plan are three aims:

1. To improve the operation of the planning system
2. To improve the image of the planning system
3. To increase resources into the planning system.

A dedicated programme manager, on an initial two-year contract, will oversee the action plan’s development and implementation.

The successful candidate, according to the Planning Alliance, will perform a “pivotal role” in co-ordinating work across the group.

The group’s search for a programme manager comes shortly after the publication of a survey by MHCLG, revealing that 53% of planning departments experiencing skills gaps have seen this situation worsen in the past 12 months.

Only a third of planning departments indicated that they had the experience, …