Principal Planning Officer Development Management

Wirral Council is a place where your work truly makes a difference. Employees are empowered to #BeTheDifference and help improve life for residents across one of the happiest and most welcoming areas in the UK. With its stunning coastline vibrant communities and ambitious vision for the future Wirral offers an exceptional setting to grow your career and feel valued every day. If youre looking for a role where you can thrive develop and make real impact Wirral Council is the perfect place to apply.

Principal Planning Officer Development Management x 2

About the Role:

We are looking for 2 Principal Planners to come and join Wirral working across our planning services team. Whether youre looking for career progression or a further challenge we have a range of projects and meaningful work in which we need your expertise.

Your main responsibility will be to process and determine a caseload of major planning applications appeals discharge of conditions and all other post-decision matters. You will undertake all necessary site inspections preparing reports and recommendations for applications and deputise for the Development Management (DM) team leaders and DM Manager and support the overall delivery of development management functions.

The role will be pivotal in driving and delivering strategic development in Wirral.

About the candidate:

We are keen to have an informal discussion with any interested candidates to understand what they would like to get out of a role here in Wirral. We recognise more than ever the need for work-life balance and true meaning in the work we do therefore we want to speak with any interested candidates informally and provide an opportunity to hear more about the roles available.

Wirral is ideally situated in the Northwest with excellent transport links to Liverpool Manchester Chester and North Wales and very close to major motorway networks. This coupled with our hybrid working approach and flexibility in working patterns i.e full and part time opportunities ensures work-life balance for our employees. Wirral also has several great places to live and a range of outstanding schools.

If you wish to discuss this role or require further information please contact any of the following panel members:

Steve Lacey Development Planning Manager on email

Neil William Development Management Team Leader on email

Alexandra McDougall Development Management Team Leader on email

Interviews to be held early May 2026.

Eligibility to work in the UK will be verified in the final stages of the selection candidates must either already have a right to work in the UK before commencing employment or meet the Home Office criteria for Visa who require sponsorship should evaluate the Home Office eligibilitycriteriafor a Skilled Worker visa before applying.

This is not legal advice and we advise you to seek your own independent legal advice tailored to your own personal circumstances

If you are a Wirral resident are unemployed or out of work and require help with your application please contact Involve Northwests employment and skills team on or contact 0 or 0.

If youre already a Wirral Council employee as part of our Talent Strategy were committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn grow progress and thrive. For many of you this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us and were passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience. Please get in touch if you want to know more about some of the ways in which we could support you by emailing

Working at Wirral

Youll also want to know what its like to work here so as a start:

Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! Weve all played a role in developing these so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do what matters to us what inspires us and inform how we think approach things and behave.

We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after staff wellbeing is a priority for us. Were serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. Youll benefit from our track record of developing growing and investing in our people.

We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts an excellent pension scheme which includes a generous employer contribution rate immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach hybrid working family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays.

We have an inclusive engaged culture everyone has a voice everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities.

Each voice is heard each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us.

We want you to be your best at work we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process. If youd like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process to make it barrier-free and as accessible as possible please contact

^{Please note that in accordance with the Councils policy employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies.}

^{It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Councils Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package unless in exceptional circumstances.}

^{Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date.}

^{We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.}

^{Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration. Forms received via the post will not be processed.}

^{All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK. Details of required documents can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the Jobs page.}

^{The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now.}

^{We do not accept applications or CVs from recruitment agencies unless otherwise stated. Therefore any candidates submitted via a recruitment agency will not be considered for this role.}