Town planner Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Town planner

Hours

35-40 per week
Starting salary

£16,000 + per year

As a town planner (or spatial planner) you would help to shape the way towns and cities develop. This involves balancing the competing demands placed on land by housing, business, transport and leisure, and making sure plans meet the economic and social needs of the community. If you are interested in urban environments, and you can see different viewpoints and make fair decisions, this job might suit you well.

To be good at this job you would also need to be a good communicator and negotiator. You would need knowledge of local planning policies and procedures. You would need report writing skills.

To work as a town planner you need a qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). You can qualify by studying for an RTPI-accredited degree in Town Planning. Alternatively, you can qualify by doing an RTPI-accredited postgraduate course, if you have a degree in a relevant subject such as surveying, architecture, statistics, geography or environmental science.

The work

Your work could cover different aspects of planning and development including:

planning for housing to create affordable, energy efficient homes
managing transport growth and encouraging public transport schemes
redesigning street layouts to improve public safety, and reduce traffic and crime
developing parks, woodland and waterways in a sustainable way
conserving old buildings, archaeological sites and areas of interest
ruling on planning applications
enforcing planning controls, for instance on building work that has started without permission
hearing concerns about planning proposals from local people and businesses.

You would also assess the potential impact that developments, such as new road building, might have on an area. To do this, you would use surveying techniques, geographical information systems (GIS) and computer-aided design (CAD) to draw up plans and make recommendations to local and regional councils.

Hours

You would usually work 35 to 40 hours a week. You might have out-of-hours duties such as attending public meetings. Part-time and flexible hours may be available.

You would be based in a planning office, but would be expected to travel to meetings or to visit sites.

Income

Starting salaries for graduate or assistant planners can be between £16,000 and £28,000 a year. Senior planners can earn up to £34,000. Planners with management responsibilities can earn up to £41,000. Chief planning officers can earn between £55,000 and £80,000.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

To work as a town planner you need a qualification accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

You can qualify by completing one of the following:

a full-time RTPI-accredited degree course – these last for four years, which includes a three-year BA degree and a one-year postgraduate diploma (longer part-time courses are also available)
an RTPI-accredited postgraduate course – If you already have a degree in a subject such as surveying, architecture, statistics, geography or environmental science
a distance learning course at degree or postgraduate level – available jointly through the Open University and a consortium of the University of the West of England, Leeds Metropolitan University, London South Bank University and Dundee University.

Visit the RTPI website for a list of all accredited courses and information on town planning careers.

Royal Town Planning Institute

Training and development

Once you have your RTPI-accredited qualification you would usually start as a graduate or assistant planner. You can then become a chartered town planner and member of the RTPI (MRTPI) by completing two years' relevant postgraduate work experience.

You will be expected to keep your knowledge and skills up to date throughout your career.

Visit the RTPI website for full membership details and information on continuing professional development (CPD).

Skills and knowledge

To be a town planner you should have:

excellent communication, negotiation and presentation skills
knowledge of local planning policies and procedures
familiarity with CAD software and GIS systems
good organisational and time management skills
sensitivity to different viewpoints
the ability to make fair judgements
research and report writing skills
the ability to work as part of a team
a commitment to your professional development
the ability to work with a wide variety of people.

More information

Royal Town Planning Institute (Opens new window)
41 Botolph Lane
London
EC3R 8DL
Tel: 020 7929 9494
www.rtpi.org.uk

LGcareers (Opens new window)
www.lgcareers.com

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
Careers Advice: careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

Local Government jobs (Opens new window)
www.lgjobs.com

Opportunities

Most town planners work for the government and local authorities. However, you may find work with private companies such as house builders, supermarkets and utility companies. There may also be opportunities with environmental and conservation bodies.

As a graduate or assistant planner, you could progress to planner or senior planner once you have gained chartered status and at least two or three years' experience. With at least ten years' experience you could become a senior manager.

Town planning experience could also lead to careers in environmental management, urban regeneration, recreation management and property development.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):

LGjobs
Opportunities – public sector recruitment
Planning Resource

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The property and planning industry is part of the facilities management, housing, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The property and planning industry covers both the private and public sectors and includes: acquiring, planning, surveying and valuing of commercial and residential property; plus valuing, selling, letting and managing of commercial and residential property.

Key facts:

The property and planning industry includes key areas of commercial and residential sales and lettings and property management.
There are 155,300 people working in the property industry in 37,200 companies.
There are significantly more full‐time than part‐time employees in the industry.
96% of all housing and property organisations have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry include: estate agent; letting agent; surveyor; town planner; auctioneer; residential property or block manager; domestic energy assessor; and emerging jobs such as commercial energy assessor, housing energy adviser and community energy adviser.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of property sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	9,400	Nearly half (46%) of the property sector workforce in the East Midlands is aged over 50. A higher than average proportion is employed on a part‐time basis (43%)
East Of England	13,100	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in the East of England is male (53%) and employed on a full‐ time basis (85%)
London	29,500	London is the largest employer of the property sector in England (19%). A significant proportion of employment is full‐time (81%), and a large proportion of the workforce is black and ethnic minorities (17%)
North East	6,300	The North East employs the smallest proportion of the property sector workforce across the English regions (4%)
North West	14,400	The North West employs 9% of the property sector workforce in England. A significant proportion of the workforce is female (61%)
South East	26,500	After London, the South East region is the second highest employer of the property sector (17%)
South West	15,200	The South West employs a significantly higher proportion of males (51%) compared to the workforce across England. 98% of the workforce is white
West Midlands	15,100	The West Midlands accounts for 10% of the property sector workforce in England.
Yorkshire & The Humber	11,000	Compared with other English regions, a significant proportion of the workforce is female (64%) and the majority is white (98%)
Northern Ireland	*	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in Northern Ireland is female (66%) and the majority (58%) of the workforce is aged between 20‐29 years
Scotland	9,400	Scotland employs 6% of the total UK property sector workforce. Women make up 60% of employees, 98% of the workforce is white, with the majority employed on a full‐time basis (81%)
Wales	4,600	Wales employs 3% of the total UK property sector workforce. The majority, (60%) of the workforce is female and 99% of the workforce is white. Compared to the UK, high proportions are employed on a part‐time basis (36%)

Source: Annual Population Survey, Housing and Property Labour Market Intelligence Update, Asset Skills, 2008
* Due to a low sample base this figure is excluded.