Town and Country Planner
In a nutshell
Planners manage towns and the countryside on everyone's behalf. They have to encourage development for the purposes of economic growth while at the same time protecting our environment and architectural heritage. There are also opportunities for planning support staff, who assist planners in their work. Most planners work for local or national government, although an increasing number work as private consultants. Their main role is to balance various needs (those of the environment, the local economy and the local population) and to come up with innovative solutions.
In depth
Their work involves:
- understanding population trends, thus predicting the demands that will be made on an area, whether urban or rural
- working with other professionals
- liaising with the public and councillors, going to meetings about planning issues
- knowledge of the legal issues associated with land use
- making policies
- presenting evidence at meetings
- objectively analysing and evaluating other people's evidence
- preparing reports and plans relating to a variety of projects - from house extensions to international airports.
The people
Town and country planners are great communicators and are interested in how to improve the environment in which people live and work.
Qualifications required
To become a town and country planner you can either take a degree in the subject, accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), or you can study a related subject at university followed by a two-year postgraduate course in town planning. Relevant degrees include architecture, geography, geology, ecology, landscape architecture, economics, statistics and transportation.
Salary
The average salary for a town and country planner with nought to five years' experience is £20,000 (source: www.building.co.uk).
Getting professional
Gaining membership of the RTPI is important if you want to practise as a chartered town planner.