District of Easington

Introduction and mission statement

Easington is the largest district in County Durham.  With a dramatic, rugged coastline and towns set within the rolling Durham countryside, Easington is an area of mixed urban and rural environments within easy reach of the towns and cities of the North East.

Our mission is simply to "Make the District Great", which is a challenge even for an "Excellent Authority".

Employment opportunities

You'll find that working in Easington gives you a wide variety of experience.  Regeneration is still the key to an area that is getting to grips with its industrial past and a number of settlement and housing renewal programmes are being worked up as action areas to guide the future development of the District.  Examples of the recent initiatives include a renewal framework for the former new town of Peterlee and support for the Durham Coalfield Housing Market Renewal Initiative.

New IT systems have recently been introduced to maintain a high performing Development Control service and our Planning Policy team aims to deliver an ambitious programme of policy review and policy development as part of our Local Development Framework.  You'll find many developing partnerships with other districts in County Durham which will help you to develop your skills including a "Planning and Young People" project promoted by Planning Aid North to encourage community involvement in education.

Training and career development

We continue to invest our Planning Delivery Grant in our staff, our service and our technology, to promote continuous service improvement and support staff development.

Vacancies arise at all levels and we also support graduates wishing to secure a planning qualification.  We offer the opportunity to develop transferable skills to widen your experience by contributing to all aspects of the planning team in return for a commitment to continuous service improvement and customer care.  A number of our staff transfer between development control and development plans to develop their careers whilst others benefit from their involvement in the partnership projects described above.

Employment policies

Employees are the greatest asset of the Council, and employee benefits therefore include:-

• 24 days annual leave (plus public holidays) increasing to 29 days after 5 years of service;
• A flexi-time system offering the opportunity to take up to three days flexi leave per month;
• An attractive pension scheme;
• Market Supplement payments for Senior Planners;
• Generous relocation packages;
• An comprehensive Occupational Health Service including free health checks and flu jabs;
• Free parking and discounted leisure facilities.