Each month we look at the planning jobs on PLANNINGJOBS.COM: who is hiring, what they are paying and where the roles are. This is the picture on 25 October 2026, the first edition of our new monthly report.
Key figures
- 139 live planning vacancies from 96 employers, with more being added every day.
- Councils lead the hiring: 85 roles with councils and public bodies, 46 with private consultancies and 8 with housebuilders, developers and other client-side employers.
- 249 new planning roles in the last 30 days: 143 at 92 councils and 106 at 36 private firms.
- Development Management leads demand (69 live roles), followed by Planning Policy (33), land and development work (29), infrastructure and major projects (13) and enforcement (12).
What planning jobs pay
Typical salaries by level and type of employer, from our salary guide:
| Level | Consultanciesancy £k | Developers and housebuildersDeveloper £k | Councils and public bodiesCouncil £k |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Assistant Planner | £26k–£32k26–32 | £29k–£35k29–35 | £28k–£34k28–34 |
| Planner / Planning Officer | £32k–£40k32–40 | £35k–£44k35–44 | £35k–£42k35–42 |
| Senior Planner | £40k–£50k40–50 | £44k–£55k44–55 | £41k–£49k41–49 |
| Principal Planner | £50k–£60k50–60 | £55k–£66k55–66 | £47k–£56k47–56 |
| Team Leader | £52k–£62k52–62 | £57k–£68k57–68 | £51k–£60k51–60 |
| Planning Manager / Head of Planning | £52k–£64k52–64 | £57k–£70k57–70 | £55k–£66k55–66 |
| Associate | £60k–£75k60–75 | £66k–£83k66–83 | £58k–£70k58–70 |
| Associate Director | £72k–£95k72–95 | £79k–£105k79–105 | £65k–£85k65–85 |
| Director | £85k–£130k85–130 | £94k–£143k94–143 | £75k–£110k75–110 |
London roles typically pay around 9% more. Client-side roles often carry a car allowance and bonus on top, and can go well above these bands for the right person. Built from the planning jobs advertised on PLANNINGJOBS.COM and what employers tell us they pay. Advertised figures on their own run lower, because most consultancy adverts say "Competitive" and the salaries that are published are mostly council grades.
What the live adverts state
Salary ranges in the live adverts that state one, by level. Almost all of these are council posts: most consultancy and developer adverts say “Competitive”, so these figures run below the guide.
| Level | Live roles with a salary | Advertised range | Typical midpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate / Assistant Planner | 6 | £26,000 – £48,000 | about £30,000 |
| Planner / Planning Officer | 20 | £30,000 – £57,000 | about £39,000 |
| Senior Planner / Senior Planning Officer | 16 | £39,000 – £75,000 | about £48,000 |
| Principal Planner / Principal Planning Officer | 13 | £44,000 – £62,000 | about £53,500 |
| Team Leader and Planning Manager | 10 | £34,000 – £75,000 | about £57,000 |
| Head of Planning and Director | 8 | £48,000 – £109,000 | about £65,500 |
Ranges overlap because job titles mean different things in different places: a Planning Officer in Scotland, or a Senior Planning Officer in a high-cost area, can earn more than a Principal elsewhere. Some adverts also cover two levels in one range.
Salary transparency: councils lead, consultancies lag
73 of the 85 council and public sector roles state a salary. Only 5 of the 54 consultancy and developer roles do (9%); the rest say “Competitive”.
That matters for employers. Planners compare offers closely, and an advert with a clear salary range is easier to say yes to. If you are hiring in a competitive market, publishing the range is one of the simplest ways to stand out.
The rules may be about to change. In July 2026 the government opened a consultation on requiring all employers to include pay in their job adverts, or to give it in writing before interview where there is no advert. It is a proposal, not law yet: the consultation closes on 27 October 2026, the detail (including how wide a salary range could be) would follow in regulations, and no start date has been set. Employers who already publish a realistic range will have nothing to change.
Where the jobs are
| Region | Live jobs |
|---|---|
| South East | 26 |
| North West | 22 |
| East of England | 21 |
| South West | 18 |
| London | 13 |
| East Midlands | 8 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 8 |
| Wales | 5 |
| Scotland | 4 |
| North East | 4 |
| Northern Ireland | 4 |
| West Midlands | 2 |
| Several regions (one employer, several offices) | 4 |
The South East, North West and East of England account for half of all live roles. Regions are the standard UK (ONS) regions. For pay by area, see our salary guide.
Who is hiring
Councils hiring this month include Aberdeen, Basingstoke and Deane, Bedford, Braintree, Brentwood, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Chichester, Dacorum, Dartford, Dorset, Epping Forest, Flintshire, Great Yarmouth, Hackney, Hull, Hyndburn, Kent, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Orkney, Oxfordshire, Preston, Royal Borough of Greenwich, St Albans, Stoke-on-Trent, Torbay, West Northamptonshire and Wrexham, along with the City of London and the Broads Authority.
Consultancies and private employers include Arup, Barker Parry, Bell Cornwell, Bidwells, Boyer, Carter Jonas, DHA Planning, Iceni Projects, Marrons, Pegasus Group, Progress Planning, Rapleys, Savills, Tetra Tech and WSP, with housebuilders and developers including Barratt Redrow, Gladman and Hill Group. See everyone hiring now in our Employers A–Z.
Questions
How many planning jobs are advertised in the UK?
On 25 October 2026 there were 139 live planning vacancies from direct employers on PLANNINGJOBS.COM, from 96 employers, and 249 new planning roles had come up in the previous 30 days.
Do councils or consultancies pay more?
At junior and mid levels, councils often pay as well as consultancies; from Principal level upwards, consultancies and especially developers usually pay more. Councils almost always publish salaries while most consultancies say “Competitive”, so our salary guide is the better comparison.
Which planning roles are most in demand?
Development Management, by a wide margin: about half of all live roles. Planning Policy is next, with about a quarter.
Looking for your next role?
Search all live planning jobs, or get the free PLANNINGJOBS.COM Weekly every Monday. It’s free and you don’t need an account.
Hiring planners?
Advertise a planning job from £445 + VAT. We publish it for you, usually the same day.
How we put this report together
This report covers the vacancies from direct employers live on PLANNINGJOBS.COM on 25 October 2026. Agency listings are excluded. Salaries are as advertised; where an advert gives a range we use the full range, and the “typical midpoint” is the median of each advert’s midpoint. This is the first edition of the report, so from November each month’s figures will be compared with the month before.
October 2026 in charts
Figures so far this month, updated every few hours until the month ends. Hover over or tap a chart for the detail.
- Councils61%
- Private consultancies36%
- Developers & clientside3%
Quoting these figures? Please credit PLANNINGJOBS.COM and link to this page.