I was working as an executive planner with Cork County Council and the position of senior executive planner became vacant at the same local authority.

Following advertisment of the vacancy in national newspapers, I submitted an application via the Public Appointments Service. Following interview (approx. 45 minutes) I was offfered the position in writing.

Working in development management one deals with the assessing of development applications and associated tasks. Hence, the primary focus is on visiting application sites, assessing the proposals and formulating assessment reports.

Associated tasks include discussions with senior managers, pre-planning consultations with public / their representatives, enforcement of planning regulations and briefing of elected members.

Development management is heavily regulated and has defined timescales to be adhered to. Hence, every week contains specific deadlines by which assessment reports must be submitted. It is critical that the assessments are to a high standard and on time. Overall the week is varied, and while challenging in terms of volumes and complexity, is always interesting due to this complexity.

The main task of a senior executive planner in development management is to supervise the assessment of planning applications within an operational area. Currently I supervise three Area Planners ensuring that all assessments are completed on time and to a high standard. On-going quality control is important to ensure that standards are maintained at a high level in order that proper and sustainable planning advice is made available to senior managers. This requires regular review of assessment reports, in-house training, briefing staff on legislative changes, etc.

I also liaise directly with the relevant senior planner, senior managers, elected members, private sector professionals and members of the public with regard to a range of planning issues. I have a hands on role in assessing large scale development proposals, such as, housing estates, industrial complexes, windfarms, etc. The senior executive planner is the primary link between senior management and front line staff.

It is a significant challenge, particularly at times of high development activity, to keep one's team well informed of all relevant information and to ensure its appropriate use.

Within this context however, it is important for each planner to be able to 'think outside the box' and not to be rigid in the application of regulations. Development and planning is a subtle exercise that requires a case by case approach.

The job of town planner is dynamic and planners are often the first professionals to come into contact with new ideas that shall form the basis of future communities and settlements.

It is critical that planners have the ability to think in terms of future needs / challenges, and respond accordingly. It is also an opportunity to have a significant input into the future forms of such communities / settlements.

It is important to note that town planners have no statutory decision making powers. Hence, the role of town planner is only advisory. In many case a planner's advice may not be agreed with by senior management. Also, within the context of exciting new developments that planners are involved with, there is also much repetitive work that must be processed.

However, this is kept to a minimum where possible via the publication of advice documents, etc. Finally, a planner must serve many masters - public, managers, elected members. These competing forces can often stretch a planner's ability to serve everyone to a high standard.

Town planners assess and formulate large amounts of data, as well as making practical recommendations for implementation. Hence, it is important to be able to organise information and apply data appropriately.

It is also important to be able to marry competing data results in order to find practical solutions - 'see the bigger picture.' Communication is one of the cornerstones of planning and each planner should be able to communicate effectively what are often complex issues.

Practical knowledge and skills relating to such areas as construction, engineering, environment, architecture, heritage, etc. can also assist greatly as planning touches on a wide spectrum of related professions.