Lawyer - Planning & Highways

Coventry City Council, Law and Governance Services is an outcome-focused service recognised for its dedication to improving the communities in which we live and work and delivering professional excellence.

The Place Team, Law and Governance Services, is responsible for all planning, highways, and commercial property advice to the Council. The successful candidate will manage a varied caseload, including but not limited to s.106 agreements, providing planning, legal and policy advice to planning officers, Councillors, stakeholders and senior officers. In addition, the successful candidate will be required to attend decision-making meetings, including the Planning Committee.

We are firmly focused on regeneration with major developments and new projects taking place across the city. Coventry is also a lively, multicultural city, which embraces both old and new and is a great place to work. We occupy a modern building (Friargate 1) right by Coventry Station, so we are easily accessible by public transport.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

An opportunity has arisen for a qualified and experienced Planning Lawyer to join the Council’s Law and Governance Service. Fast-paced and part of a high-performing team, this is an exciting time for you to join us and develop your career, knowledge and experience within this area of law. If successful, you will be central to providing legal planning support in the delivery of key regeneration projects such as:

• Coventry City Centre South: The scheme, which has already secured £98m in funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority is located in the southern part of the city centre and is made up of 6.4 hectares / 15 acres (the equivalent of nine football pitches), including Bull Yard, Shelton Square, Market Way, City Arcade which will deliver new homes, a hotel, cinema, retail and restaurants along with co-working and community spaces. These proposals will create a new focal point for all of Coventry’s communities to come together, as well as drawing in visitors, with an inviting new public realm and an accessible events space at its heart. For more information, please visit https://www.coventrycitycentresouth.co.uk/

• Eastern Green Sustainable Urban Extension: The outline proposals for this Sustainable Urban Extension are for approximately 2,625 homes on land north of Eastern Green, Coventry, which would become a new mixed-use community. For more information, please visit https://www.eastern-green.com

The role will entail transactional, advisory and litigious work, including s.106 agreements, planning enforcement, development management and policy. Development in the team’s other areas of practice, such as property, environment, highways, traffic, rights of way, and common land, will be expected, supported, and encouraged.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

The role will suit a detailed, focused, enthusiastic lawyer who has the dynamism to handle a busy and challenging caseload. You will need strong drafting, negotiating and advisory skills and competence with IT and case management systems and an enabling, positive approach to finding solutions to complex problems as well as the ability to anticipate and adapt to business and client needs and to appreciate risk management issues, working flexibly across a multi-skilled team.

If you feel you have the necessary background, experience and skills to undertake this role, we would like to hear from you. Please contact the Place Team Manager (Rob Parkes) on 07566 253043 or the Head of Legal and Procurement (Oluremi Aremu) on 02476 972070 if you wish to have an informal discussion about the exciting role.

When applying, you will be asked to write a personal statement, which should include/ demonstrate the following:

• An experienced Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow).
• Understanding of the law relating to Planning and experience of successfully managing a busy planning caseload.
• Dealing with s106 planning and associated agreements.
• Experience of working with elected members and senior officers, including attendance at, and advising the planning committee and other relevant meetings.
• Understanding of Planning Legislation, including the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) and the Development Management Procedure (England) Order 2015 and the ability to provide comprehensive advice to planning officers in relation to the interpretation of these Orders.
• Knowledge of the legislation on Compulsory Purchase Orders and the ability to draft the associated documentation.
• Knowledge and understanding of local government and administrative law.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers reasonable.

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies