Decision details

To agree to the pooling of the base budgets for the Planning Policy Manager roles of Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council in order to secure two contractor posts, to manage the work of the three Planning Policy Teams and support the agreed work programme of the Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Strategic and Local Plan (SLP). One of these will be the existing contractor employed by Cheltenham Borough Council, the second will be a new contractor employed by Tewkesbury Council.

This decision is to agree the way forward for resourcing over the next 12 months. There will be a separate decision which details the procurement procedure arising from this decision.

There remains an ongoing challenge with recruitment in planning at a senior level. The challenge in the planning sector at senior levels is well evidenced nationally and unfortunately Cheltenham Borough Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council has not escaped this challenge. Gloucester City Council also currently has a Planning Policy Manager vacancy resulting from a secondment into a Strategic and Local Plan Manger role.

Working with our SLP partners at Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council, we have considered different options to secure this support and, both in light of our recent experience to trying to recruit to permanent Planning Policy Manager roles, but also in light of uncertainty given ongoing conversations around Local Government Reorganisation.

To ensure we address capacity issues in dealing with planning policy work which is critical to the SLP outcomes and managing the work of the core teams, having leads in place at Planning Policy Manager level is essential.

The proposal is to pool the annual base salaries for existing Planning Policy Manager roles at Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council, to provide two contractor managers to manage the work of the three Planning Policy Teams and support the SLP. The pooled budget amounts to £207,000, and there will also be a requirement for a smaller contribution from the SLP budget, likely in the region of £77,000. These roles will be line managed by the SLP Manager. The value of these roles have been benchmarked across a range of recruitment agencies.

A contract will be entered by Cheltenham Borough Council into for up to 12 months with a review period at 6 months. The review point will reassess the recruitment progress, recruitment conditions and the context of local government reorganisation. Officers are engaged in the separate procurement being led by Tewkesbury Council, but this decision will be in line with their procurement guidelines and decision making.

The decision for Cheltenham Borough Council will require a new contract for the existing contractor. Should there be any further requirements beyond 12 months and taking into account the review points as set out above there will require further decision making in line with Cheltenham Borough Council’s contract rules and procurement legislation.

This decision aligns with the council’s commitment to progress the SLP, which is a corporate priority with an ambitious timetable to submit the Plan for examination in October/November 2026, addressing capacity challenges and corporate priorities for the core teams

To note a further decision will be made to set out the details of the procurement.

Continue to try and recruit to the Planning Policy Manager vacancies. However, this has been attempted several times utilising both inhouse HR teams and specialist recruitment consultants without success. This is likely to be now compounded with uncertainties around Local Government Reorganisation. Notwithstanding this, the councils will advertise establishment posts on an ongoing basis.

Another option would be to use the budget to secure additional junior level support. However, there is a need for experience and leadership to support the SLP and corporate priorities of each of the councils.