Planning Inspectorate Newsletter - Issue 3
A Day in the Life of a New Inspector
I joined the Planning Inspectorate after nineteen years in Local Government. I worked in a busy development control section in a North London authority. During my time in Local Government I had become familiar with certain aspects of the work of Planning Inspectors. I was attracted by the responsibility and the challenges that the job presents. Having the final say on matters is certainly different from working for a Local Authority!
The first two weeks of employment were spent undergoing training in Bristol. It was stimulating and refreshing to be in a learning environment once again. Training puts a fresh perspective on some familiar topics and sometimes a degree of un-learning is required. Training is undertaken with a thorough, professional and realistic approach. Training also establishes links with the Senior Inspector Trainers who are usually the first point of contact after training. On a more personal basis, training also established friendships with my fellow recruits who are a great source of more informal advice and humour.
The first month or so of casework has provided a variety of cases to handle. There is some flexibility to arrange the working day or week to suit your own requirements (within reason!). The support from a professional and technical perspective is readily accessible and always helpful. The work is mentally challenging, but brings with it a high degree of satisfaction and the sense of doing a worthwhile job. In the next few months I will be looking forward to a variety of cases, with training for Hearings in July, followed by Public Inquiries in December.
Days spent at home writing decisions are thankfully quiet and conducive to concentration, apart from the frequent deliveries from the delivery driver who I’m now on first name terms with.
Site visits are generally allocated on a fortnightly basis. In general, you are free to arrange them to suit yourself in terms of time of day, order and which day. After a few weeks you become well practiced at judging travel times and time for the visit itself. Nothing, however, can legislate for conditions on the M25.
It is essential to arrive on time and usually an early arrival to the vicinity will allow you to reassure parties that you have already had a chance to take in the character of the area. Late arrival by either of the other principal parties can not only have knock on effects for your subsequent visits, but requires you to impose a ‘cordon sanitaire’ around yourself.
I started at the beginning of what has just been recorded as the coldest March for two decades. Snow, wind and rain are ingredients that have disrupted the best laid plans.
So the only things that I would change so far: start employment in the Summer (probably makes no difference in this country) and secondly, ask for a Sat-Nav for Christmas.
Tim Wood BA(Hons) BTP MRTPI
Planning Inspector
