Compliance Officer - Planning

Salary: £32,046 to £34,968 per annum pro rata Hours: 37 hours per week Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month. Contract Type: Hybrid - Permanent Closing Date: 11th October 2026 Interview Date:21st October 2026

About the role We are seeking a motivated and knowledgeable Compliance Officer to join our team and play a key role in securing compliance with planning permissions and relevant planning regulations through proactive monitoring and investigation of development activity. This is an exciting opportunity to help ensure compliance with planning legislation and contribute to the effective and efficient operation of the Council's planning enforcement service. As a Compliance Officer, you will proactively monitor development sites to ensure adherence to approved plans and planning conditions and maintain a register of sites requiring ongoing compliance checks including large developments. You will manage a varied caseload, ensuring cases are progressed effectively and in line with agreed performance standards. Key responsibilities include:

• Investigating complaints and determining whether breaches of planning control or planning conditions have occurred.
• Monitoring compliance with planning conditions and undertaking site visits to assess and gather evidence.
• Preparing and issuing formal enforcement notices, stop notices, and breach of condition notices.
• Drafting reports and recommendations for planning committees and legal proceedings.
• Working closely with legal services to initiate and support prosecutions where necessary.
• Maintaining accurate, up-to-date case records, reports, and correspondence.
• Providing regular updates to complainants, councillors, senior officers, and other stakeholders.
• Presenting cases at planning committees, appeal hearings, public inquiries, and court proceedings as required.
• Collaborating with colleagues across the Council, including Legal Services, Building Control, and Environmental Health, to deliver coordinated enforcement activity.
• Engaging professionally with members of the public, developers, planning agents, elected members, and other external partners.
• Attending internal and external meetings and contributing to corporate initiatives requiring joint enforcement action. About You To be successful in this role, you will have:
• A strong working knowledge of UK planning legislation, particularly planning enforcement and compliance.
• Experience of managing planning compliance cases or undertaking similar regulatory or compliance-based work.
• Excellent investigative, analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to manage a diverse caseload, prioritise effectively, and work independently and conduct site visits in rural, urban, or construction environments.
• Experience of preparing evidence and presenting cases at hearings, inquiries, tribunals, or court proceedings.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate records and documentation.
• The confidence to build positive working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders while handling sensitive and complex situations professionally.