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To agree to the pooling of the base budgets
for the Planning Policy Manager roles of Cheltenham Borough
Council, Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council in
order to secure two contractor posts, to manage the work of the
three Planning Policy Teams and support the agreed work programme
of the Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Strategic and Local
Plan (SLP). One of these will be the existing contractor employed
by Cheltenham Borough Council, the second will be a new contractor
employed by Tewkesbury Council.

This decision is to agree the way forward for resourcing over the
next 12 months. There will be a separate decision which details the
procurement procedure arising from this decision.

Reasons for the decision

There remains an ongoing challenge with
recruitment in planning at a senior level. The challenge in the
planning sector at senior levels is well evidenced nationally and
unfortunately Cheltenham Borough Council and Tewkesbury Borough
Council has not escaped this challenge. Gloucester City Council
also currently has a Planning Policy Manager vacancy resulting from
a secondment into a Strategic and Local Plan Manger role.

Working with our SLP partners at Gloucester City Council and
Tewkesbury Borough Council, we have considered different options to
secure this support and, both in light of our recent experience to
trying to recruit to permanent Planning Policy Manager roles, but
also in light of uncertainty given ongoing conversations around
Local Government Reorganisation.

To ensure we address capacity issues in dealing with planning
policy work which is critical to the SLP outcomes and managing the
work of the core teams, having leads in place at Planning Policy
Manager level is essential.

The proposal is to pool the annual base salaries for existing
Planning Policy Manager roles at Cheltenham Borough Council,
Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council, to provide
two contractor managers to manage the work of the three Planning
Policy Teams and support the SLP. The pooled budget amounts to
£207,000, and there will also be a requirement for a smaller
contribution from the SLP budget, likely in the region of
£77,000. These roles will be line managed by the SLP Manager.
The value of these roles have been benchmarked across a range of
recruitment agencies.

A contract will be entered by Cheltenham Borough Council into for
up to 12 months with a review period at 6 months. The review point
will reassess the recruitment progress, recruitment conditions and
the context of local government reorganisation. Officers are
engaged in the separate procurement being led by Tewkesbury
Council, but this decision will be in line with their procurement
guidelines and decision making.

The decision for Cheltenham Borough Council will require a new
contract for the existing contractor. Should there be any further
requirements beyond 12 months and taking into account the review
points as set out above there will require further decision making
in line with Cheltenham Borough Council’s contract rules and
procurement legislation.

This decision aligns with the council’s commitment to
progress the SLP, which is a corporate priority with an ambitious
timetable to submit the Plan for examination in October/November
2026, addressing capacity challenges and corporate priorities for
the core teams

To note a further decision will be made to set out the details of
the procurement.

Alternative options considered

Continue to try and recruit to the Planning
Policy Manager vacancies. However, this has been attempted several
times utilising both inhouse HR teams and specialist recruitment
consultants without success. This is likely to be now compounded
with uncertainties around Local Government Reorganisation.
Notwithstanding this, the councils will advertise establishment
posts on an ongoing basis.

Another option would be to use the budget to secure additional
junior level support. However, there is a need for experience and
leadership to support the SLP and corporate priorities of each of
the councils.