[VIDEO] Local planning inspector recruitment to begin in earnest in new year

A government announcement declares that the Planning Inspectorate is opening a recruitment drive for new inspectors, with applications opening in 2026

The announcement includes a job description, saying the role offers flexible and home-based work, training, and a competitive salary.

The planning recruitment drive will also prioritise experienced, senior professionals.

More planners are needed

Applications will be open on the Planning Inspectorate careers site in the new year.

An accompanying video has also been published alongside the announcement, as per below:

According to the British Property Federation, in the wake of devolution announcements in March, an extra 3,000 planning officers will need to be recruited over the next five years, in order to both hit the government’s 1.5m home target and to embed the benefits of devolution.

At the time, Melanie Leech CBE, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “The government has moved at pace in its first few months in office, especially on planning reform. This now needs to be matched by a clear long-term plan to maximise the real estate sector’s full economic, social and environmental potential.

“Planning reform remains fundamental to delivering the Government’s agenda and must be matched by additional capacity to deliver this. An additional 3,000 planners need to be deployed across England to help unlock the full potential of the system changes. On top of this we need urgent action to provide extra resource to key bodies like the Building Safety Regulator, where delays are currently holding back the delivery and occupation of thousands of homes across the country for up to a year.

“We also invite the government to work with us to tackle further regulatory barriers and to address current viability challenges. With this partnership, our plan will help secure the future of our high streets, help to deliver new homes of all tenures, and could generate 25% of the UK’s future clean energy needs.”

More planners are leaving than joining

Last month, the Royal Town Planning Institute released the results of a survey finding that the pipeline for replacing planners who are retiring or leaving the field is not sufficient.

Up to 20% of planners will be leaving the profession without a replacement in the pipeline.

Furthermore, understaffing is a frequent issue, as 58% of respondents say they are frequently overstretched in their roles, and 66% say their teams do not have the capacity to meet demand.

Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “Without the planners needed to meet homes and commercial demand, the system simply won’t function. Not only do we risk losing the expertise required to create great places, without a scaled-up pipeline, we risk losing the workforce capacity to plan and enable new development. This report is a stark wakeup call for all to note and act.”

Robbie Calvert, head of policy and public affairs at the RTPI, said: “Our report lays stark the multitude of issues our profession is currently facing, framed by a backdrop of years of severe disinvestment. For the government to meet its housing targets and its net zero ambitions as a part of the growth agenda we need to ensure that we have sufficient planners with the appropriate resources to undertake this critical work. Without such considerations, this constitutes a strategic risk for our country both in terms of driving our economic ambitions and creating great places of the future.”

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