Our Planning and Building Control teams

At West Northamptonshire Council, every day is different. Our Planning and Building Control teams employ over 100 people in a variety of exciting roles across the service. Since becoming a unitary authority in 2021, the teams have continued to expand and improve, and it is a fantastic time to be part of a service that you can genuinely shape and influence the future of. 

Although large, it is a friendly and supportive team, where internal development is actively encouraged and cross-collaboration happens on a regular basis.

If you want to build on your local government experience, switch to the public sector, or return to work after a break, this is the perfect place for you. While local government experience is not necessary, you should be passionate about delivering an excellent service to support our residents and the West Northamptonshire area.

We prioritise career development, wellbeing and flexibility, allowing you to advance your career in a supportive environment. We offer mentoring, coaching, training, and other resources to help you succeed in your role. 

If you have a Planning or Building Control qualification, we would always be happy to hear from you. You can contact us at [email protected]. You can also sign up for job alerts on our vacancy page.

Find Planning and Building Control vacancies.

Job roles in our Planning team

Learn more about the roles within Planning and Building Control and hear from some of the team about their career journeys and why they love their role at West Northants!

Planning Policy Officer

Our Planning Policy Officer’s support in the preparation and review of the single Local Plan for West Northamptonshire, Neighbourhood Plans, and Supplementary Planning Documents, along with offering valuable insights on planning policy and development matters. They keep informed about UK Government policies, strategic planning, and sub-regional planning matters. 

Collaboration is key as Planning Policy Officers liaise with colleagues, authorities, developers, and the public regarding land use policies on a regular basis. 

Hear from Ben as he tells us about his role as a Planning Policy Officer, his career journey so far, and why he chose WNC.

Specialist Services

Our Specialist Services function is made up of roles dedicated to the natural environment, historic environment and design. 

With dedicated specialists, this team leads the way in shaping future policy, providing technical advice to applicants and our case officers as well as leading our corporate response to key issues such as:

• sustainable design
• conservation
• regeneration initiatives
• Biodiversity Net Gain

Hear from Charlotte, a Senior Natural Environment Officer (Ecology) about her specialist role and what she enjoys about it. 

You can also hear from Jenny and Raj about their specialist roles in Historic Environment and Design, what they do and how they work together.

Major Projects team

Our Major Projects Officers deal with large scale applications and Development Consent Orders (DCO’s). Thanks to the variety of organisations based within West Northamptonshire, this is a really exciting role and the team get to work on some fantastic projects including the expansion of the Mercedes AMG F1 factory, DIRFT extensions, and have supported with the HS2 infrastructure. 

Hear from Simon, Head of Development Management to learn more about Major Projects and the exciting things the team get to work on.

Development Management team

Our Development Management teams are critical to the delivery of sustainable growth in West Northamptonshire, managing a varied caseload of around 4500 planning applications per year in our urban and rural areas. 

As well as supporting our external service users, these teams work across the council to facilitate projects in education, sustainability, assets, regeneration and affordable housing.

Enforcement and Monitoring team

Our Enforcement and Monitoring Team provided specialist advice on Section 106 development contribution and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) matters. 

They lead on the monitoring, collection, distribution, and enforcement of S106 planning obligations, and any payments made under the community infrastructure levy regulations. They also undertake planning enforcement action in the event of non-compliance. 

Hear from James and Tamara about the roles in the team, and their career journeys to get there.

Roles in our Building Control team

Our Building Control team makes sure that building regulations are followed during construction. The building regulations cover areas such as fire safety, public health, energy conservation and accessibility.

The team work closely with external agencies including architects, builders and engineers, carry out site inspections and write up reports including issuing completion certificates. 

The structure in the team is: 

• Assistant Building Control Officer
• Building Control Officer
• Senior Building Control Officer
• Principal Building Control Officer
• Team Leader
• Head of Service

You can hear from Fiona to learn more about her role as a Building Control Surveyor, her career journey and her current training.

Last updated 09 May 2025