Senior Planner

Location: Hestercombe House, Taunton, Somerset. Term: Full-time. Role Type: Senior planning consultant, client advisory and fee earning. Salary: £38,000 to £48,000 - depending on experience, capability and expected fee earning contribution. Benefits: A beautiful working location, with onsite parking, café and access to 45 acres of landscaped grounds. Dog-friendly office. Enhanced Employee Assistance Programme. 20 days’ basic holiday, plus birthday leave, Christmas and New Year closure, and public holidays. Pension: 8% Workplace Pension. Start: Immediate / by agreement. Bondstones is looking to appoint a Senior Planner to join our rural planning team at Hestercombe House, near Taunton. This is a salaried planning consultancy role for someone with strong planning knowledge, good judgement and the ability to advise clients clearly. The role will focus on rural planning, permitted development, change of use, diversification, planning applications, prior notifications, certificates of lawfulness and related development strategy. You are likely to have around five years’ post‑graduation or post‑qualification experience, although we are more interested in capability, judgement and fit than years alone. You may already be working in private practice, a rural professional firm, a planning consultancy, or local authority development management with strong rural planning experience. The role is client‑facing and fee‑earning, but it is not a regional leadership appointment. You will be expected to manage your own work, contribute to high‑quality planning submissions, support project delivery and work within Bondstones’ Stepping Stones™ methodology. Responsibilities Key responsibilities include: Preparing planning appraisals, site assessments, planning reports and feasibility advice. Preparing, submitting and managing planning applications, prior notifications and certificates of lawfulness. Advising on rural permitted development, including Class Q, Class R, agricultural buildings and related prior approval routes. Supporting rural change of use, barn conversion, diversification, tourism, equestrian, renewable energy and rural business projects. Researching planning policy, case law, appeal decisions and procedural requirements. Assisting with planning appeals, enforcement matters and responses to local planning authority queries. Working with architects, surveyors, ecologists, landscape consultants, heritage consultants and other external specialists. Attending site visits and client meetings across the South West and wider southern England. Preparing clear written advice for clients and internal project teams. Supporting the preparation of fee proposals, project scopes and client updates. Contributing to Bondstones’ Stepping Stones™ planning methodology and internal knowledge base. Qualifications A sound understanding of the English planning system. Around five years’ relevant post‑graduation or post‑qualification experience, or equivalent capability. Experience preparing or managing planning submissions. Good written and verbal communication skills. Confidence in client‑facing work. An ability to understand planning risk, policy context and procedural options. Commercial awareness, including an understanding of scope, time, fee recovery and client expectations. A practical, organised and methodical approach to workload management. Professional judgement and attention to detail. A willingness to work as part of a specialist rural planning and architectural team. #J-18808-Ljbffr