Graduate Town Planner -Aldgate, London or Bristol - Start October - December 26

AECOM · London, England, United Kingdom

  • Junior
  • Full-time
  • Posted 2026-09-23
  • Confirmed live on 25 September 2026

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Job description

Job Description
Our Town Planning Team has a number of fantastic graduate opportunity available immediately in our London and Bristol offices (other locations including Manchester, Birmingham, Plymouth, Basingstoke, Nottingham, Chesterfield and Leeds will also be considered).
About our Team
The AECOM Planning Practice covers both policy planning and consenting. Our projects include some of the largest, most complex and high-profile development projects in the UK for both public and private sector clients. We are a vibrant and dynamic planning team and work closely with colleagues in other related disciplines, including masterplanning, landscape, environment, sustainability, transport, economics and stakeholder engagement.
Our projects
We support Plan-making from the strategic to local and neighbourhood scale, including:

• Strategic growth and infrastructure planning – projects include those at the regional and sub-regional scale, such as Growth and Infrastructure Frameworks for Kent, Surrey, West Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, and the West of England and nationally significant strategic planning studies for Central Government including work for MHCLG on the Ox Cam Arc New and Expanded Settlements Programme and for Homes England and the Thames Estuary Growth Board on the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Study.

• Local Plans – We work with a range of local planning authorities to provide full support through the plan-making process by developing evidence such as housing and economic development need assessments, housing and employment land availability assessments, sustainability appraisals, as well as working with our client to develop policies in their Plans and defending them at Examination in Public.
We lead on complex planning consents for infrastructure, energy, transport and residential development schemes including:

• Great Grid Upgrade – AECOM are leading planning consents on a number of projects for National Grid which are following the Development Consent Order process including new transmission lines.

• Northern Arc, Burgess Hill - AECOM submitted a hybrid planning application for a 3,500 home urban extension to the north of Burgess Hill on behalf of Homes England. Our planning team coordinated the major multi-disciplinary team to produce the masterplan, Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Phasing Strategy.

• Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade – on behalf of Network Rail, AECOM is leading the consenting for the transformative, long-term railway infrastructure programme that will improve connectivity and help boost economic growth in the North.

• London Luton Airport Expansion DCO – AECOM provided town planning, masterplanning and environmental support to the Development Consent Order application to almost double the size of London Luton Airport, including a new terminal.
Here's what you'll do:
Joining AECOM will provide you with opportunities for career progression within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted.
As a Graduate you will play a role in supporting a wide variety of projects, engaging directly with clients and stakeholders to secure successful planning outcomes. Work portfolios are managed to ensure that all staff experience a breadth and depth of project opportunities (including plan making, development management and infrastructure projects).  
AECOM works closely with the RTPI to provide comprehensive training and support to our graduates undertaking the Assessment of Professional Competence. We offer the opportunity to network with other planners and professionals at frequent events, meet-ups and knowledge-sharing sessions to support and enable you to achieve your career ambitions.
Main duties would be to:

• Provide technical inputs to land use planning projects and work within a team of planners, environmental specialists, landscape architects and engineers to deliver a range of projects including land development, infrastructure planning, policy planning and strategic development planning projects.

• Play a supporting role in the preparation of planning consent applications for a range of energy, water, infrastructure and large-scale residential schemes, working with other disciplines in multi-disciplinary teams. This would for example include writing planning statements or policy appraisals and liaising with the client and other stakeholders to achieve successful planning outcomes.

• Carry out planning research and analysis and assist with the identification of planning risk.

• Support others in the team to identify and pursue business development opportunities and support the growth of the business through new and repeat clients. Contribute to proposals and qualification documents to secure new commissions.

• Provide effective representation for the organisation, developing and managing relationships with clients, local authorities and other stakeholders through project work and through attendance at conferences and other n

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