Principal Urban Designer

We currently have an exciting opportunity within the Bedford Borough Planning Service and this is an ideal career opportunity to gain a broad spread of planning experience and knowledge.

We have excellent transport connections to the national rail network (40 minutes from London) and to the national motorway network via the M1 and addition the Governments growth programme commits to East-West Rail which will include stops in the south of the borough as well as in the heart of Bedford. This makes the Borough an excellent choice for investment: Universal Destinations and Experiences think so!

Bedford itself is a traditional market town with a range of excellent educational settings and good quality cultural facilities. The River Great Ouse with its formal embankment along with an impressive range of other urban parks and gardens provide a high quality environment in which to live and work. However if you prefer to live in a more rural setting you will not be disappointed as we also have many attractive villages from which to choose.

Bedford Borough Councils Planning Service

Bedford Borough Council is committed to a major programme of sustainable growth which will shape the Borough for generations to come. This will deliver thousands of new homes regenerate its town centres and deliver environmental enhancements and an improved transport system.

We offer a fantastic opportunity to develop your planning and urban designer career with an unrivalled mix of urban and rural development regeneration schemes and sustainable new settlements. We are a friendly and supportive team and we have flexible working practices with a mixture of working in our office and return we are looking for a motivated and innovative planner with relevant experience of dealing with a range of different application types of varying complexity and has a good grasp of planning legislation ideally in a development management setting. A pro-active approach to place-shaping and excellent customer service skills are essential as well as being a team player.

If you believe you have these attributes then we would love to hear from you. See what some of our current staff have to say about working in the planning team at Bedford: you are interested in this position and would like an informal chat please email

How to apply
When you are ready to apply click on Apply for Vacancy; you will be asked to upload a CVand answer some application questions. The application questions require a yes/no response. Please make sure your CV shows how you meet the requirements for the role you are applying for the job profile below will show the essential selection criteria. An optional CV template is provided below.

Closing Date: 19th July 2026

Interview Date(s): W/C 27th July 2026

Visa Sponsorship
Bedford Borough Council is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this post.