Land Development Manager

Company: tdm recruitment
Apply for the Land Development Manager
Location: Warrington
Job Description:

Senior Planning & Development Manager – Strategic Land

Warrington

I’m working with a well-funded, privately owned strategic land business led by some of the most respected figures in UK housebuilding. They’re looking for an ambitious planning professional to help shape the next generation of new communities.

About the business

My client buys land with long-term development potential. They fund and run the planning process, working closely with councils and communities, then sell consented sites to housebuilders. The focus is on larger, residential-led schemes, with high-quality placemaking at the heart of every project.

They have significant cash reserves and don’t depend on outside funding. That means quick decisions, direct relationships with landowners, and the patience to see complex sites through. Their current pipeline includes large-scale residential and garden-village-scale schemes across England.

The role

Reporting to the Planning Director, you’ll lead a portfolio of strategic land sites across the UK, from early promotion through to planning consent. You’ll be close to every decision and have real ownership of your projects. You will:

  • Build and deliver planning strategies for strategic sites, through both the local plan and planning applications
  • Monitor and engage with emerging local plans. That means preparing representations, appearing at Examinations in Public and building relationships with planning policy teams
  • Lead and coordinate consultant teams across planning, masterplanning, highways, ecology, heritage, drainage and environmental impact assessment (EIA)
  • Prepare and manage outline planning applications, including Section 106 negotiations, viability and infrastructure planning
  • Run stakeholder and community engagement with councils, parish councils, statutory consultees and local residents
  • Support the land team on site appraisals, due diligence and new opportunities
  • Manage appeals strategy and support inquiries and hearings where needed
  • Manage project programmes, budgets and risks, and report to the senior leadership team

About you

  • A degree in town planning or a related subject, with MRTPI membership.
  • Solid experience in strategic land promotion, gained with a land promoter, housebuilder, developer or planning consultancy
  • A strong grasp of the NPPF, the plan-making process and the current planning reform agenda
  • A record of securing allocations and/or outline consents on larger residential or mixed-use sites
  • Confidence managing consultant teams and presenting to councillors, officers and communities
  • Commercial awareness, including an understanding of land value, viability and what housebuilders need from a consented site
  • A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel to sites across the country

Why this role?

  • A lean, well-funded business where your work gets noticed at board level
  • The chance to learn from industry-leading figures with decades of housebuilding and land experience
  • A varied, high-quality pipeline of large-scale residential projects

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Posted: November 6th, 2026