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Vicki Colwell

Principal Planning Officer
What employment sector do you work in?

Public Sector

How long have you had a green job for nature?

9 years

Salary Range

£40,001 – £50,000

Please describe the work that you do.

I work for a National Park Authority, where I lead a variety of major planning applications and our responses to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects affecting the National Park. As part of a team, I help shape schemes to ensure they are delivering meaningful ecosystem service enhancements, improving habitats and considering the landscape in which they are trying to develop. These can include housing, renewable energy, farm diversification, bridges and engineering works.

What do you most like about your job? Any dislikes?

The variety – No two projects are the same. It is fantastic working with a diverse range of people from different specialisms (heritage, ecology, design, water, tourism, climate, access – to name just some) and bringing it all together to create something that will ensure people are able to carry on enjoying our amazing landscape.
Whilst a large portion of the work can be desk-based, it does bring opportunities to be outside, exploring and really getting to understand how landscape functions.
On the flip-side, there are sometimes tough decisions that need to be made and it is not possible to make everyone happy. Planning is very much about delivering for the public benefit, but that shouldn’t mean developing at any cost (and it definitely doesn’t when working in protected landscapes).

What inspired you into this career? 

I sort of fell into a planning career about 20 years ago. Sometimes media around the profession can make it feel like it is all about the built form, but it can be so much more than that. I was particularly inspired by the opportunity to help people engage with and understand the place they live – ensuring access to nature regardless of where they live. Being able to work in an area that looked at landscape first – and used that to help shape and guide how/what/where we build, so that it has minimal impact but with maximum benefit drew me to the National Park Authority. That is not to say that those benefits cannot be achieved elsewhere in the planning sector.

Have you faced any challenges in progressing your career so far? 

Some – earlier in my career. Circumstances and general attitudes to flexible working have changed significantly since I started out.
Planning can sometimes be considered a bit of a dirty word in the natural environment, so giving voice to why it is so relevant is critical (and we need more people shouting about it!)

What education/training did you have?

I did my undergraduate degree part-time in Urban and Environmental Planning whilst working for a Local Authority. I was lucky that they were willing to cover the cost of the fees, although that was quite common at the time (more than 70% of the students on my course were in the same boat). I then topped it up with a post-graduate diploma in Town Planning, which all-together provided an accredited course enabling me to apply for chartered membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute. That was necessary at the time to progress with my career. There are many other different routes in to the profession though – apprenticeships, education in different fields – as well as different routes to gain membership of the RTPI.

What advice would you give to someone coming into the profession? 

Be open-minded and willing to carry on learning. There are so many different facets of planning (strategic, policy, management, specialist fields, education, public and private sector) – it can provide so many career opportunities.

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Tags: England, Public sector, Project manager, Environmental planner

Date profile submitted: 03/10/2024

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