Be at the heart of actionFly remote-controlled drones into enemy territory to gather vital information.

Apply Now

Planning Lawyer

National Highways
City of Bristol
3 days ago
Create job alert

About the job. 

Join National Highways as a Lawyer and make a real impact!


You’ll provide clear, pragmatic legal advice across planning, highways, and environmental law, helping shape decisions that keep our roads safe and efficient. Working alongside experienced Lawyers and Senior Lawyers, you’ll support complex cases and draw on specialist expertise to protect the best interests of National Highways every step of the way.


This is a hybrid position (40% office based) and can be based from either our Guildford, Bristol or Birmingham offices and will include some travel to other offices to attend meetings.

Provide advice on development consent orders, transport and work act orders, local development orders, compulsory purchase, highways law, permitted development, spatial planning issues, , town and country planning matters, including planning inquiries and appeals, plus environmental law all to protect the interests of National Highways. Act as the legal expert for National Highways, resolving any queries, providing clear, concise advice and direction and providing support to Senior Lawyers on complex matters where required. Advise on reputational risk, ensuring the horizon is scanned, pulling together conflicting priorities and manage expectations of a range of stakeholders to provide the best possible legal service to National Highways. Take responsibility for ensuring that guidance, legislation and policy are followed, providing high quality, pragmatic advice. Advise as a public sector lawyer on planning, highways and environmental law, reputational risk and legal risk.

About you.

A Qualified Lawyer with experience of planning, highways and environmental law A good understanding of Public Law Able to manage own caseload and work under pressure and to deadlines Ability to influence stakeholders at a range of levels

About us. 


Here at National Highways, we manage and improve England’s motorways and major A roads, helping our customers have safer, smoother and more reliable journeys. Our priorities are safety, customers and delivery, and at the core of this, are our values of passion, integrity, safety, teamwork and ownership. 


Legal Services encompasses both the National Highways legal team and the company secretariat. Our aim is to provide the organisation with an effective legal service and support the Board, Chief Executive, and its committees on a wide range of issues. We offer strategic legal advice on commercial, planning, operational, highways, employment, regulatory, and property matters, ensuring legal compliance and minimising exposure to risk. 


External candidates will be offered a starting salary at the lower end of the pay scale, while current employees will be appointed in accordance with our established pay policy. 


We are committed to creating a diverse environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. 

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Planning Lawyer

Partner/LD, Planning (Non-Contentious) – Edinburgh/Glasgow

Partner/LD, Planning (Non-Contentious) – Edinburgh/Glasgow

Senior Lawyers/Director/Partner – Glasgow

Private Client Lawyers – Glasgow / Morayshire

5+, Practice Development Lawyer, Real Estate – Glasgow or Edinburgh

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Space Industry Recruitment Trends 2025 (UK): What Job Seekers Need To Know About Today’s Hiring Process

Summary: UK space‑sector hiring has shifted from pedigree‑first screening to capability‑driven evaluation across the full stack—spacecraft systems, payload/RF, flight software, GNC/ADCS, propulsion, structures/thermal, AIT (assembly–integration–test), mission/ground operations, reliability/radiation, and compliance (ECSS, export control). Employers want proof you can build, test, operate and scale space systems safely and economically. This guide explains what’s changed, what to expect in interviews & how to prepare—especially for satellite/spacecraft engineers, payload & RF/MM‑wave, flight & ground software, GNC/ADCS, power/thermal, AIT/test, mission ops, data/EO, and space product/TPM roles. Who this is for: Systems engineers, payload/RF engineers, flight software & FDIR, GNC/ADCS, power/thermal/structures, propulsion, AIT/test, reliability/radiation, QA/compliance, ground segment/cloud, mission operations, EO/data processing, and product/programme managers targeting roles in the UK space ecosystem.

Why Space Careers in the UK Are Becoming More Multidisciplinary

The UK’s space sector is growing fast — from satellite systems and Earth observation to satellite communications, space robotics, propulsion, space data analytics, and mission operations. But the nature of space work is changing. Projects involving satellites, launch systems, space robotics and ground infrastructure are now embedded in regulation, public perception, human interaction and cross-disciplinary design. Space careers in the UK used to be dominated by engineers, astrophysicists, systems analysts and telemetry experts. Today, they increasingly demand fluency not only in aerospace, software, electronics & data, but also in law, ethics, psychology, linguistics & design. After all, space systems operate under treaties, privacy constraints, public scrutiny, international collaborations and human interfaces. In this article, we explore why space careers in the UK are becoming more multidisciplinary, how those allied fields intersect with space work, and what job-seekers & employers must do to thrive in this evolving cosmos.

UK Space Team Structures Explained: Who Does What in a Modern Space Department

The UK space sector is rapidly expanding. With growth in satellite design, Earth observation, communications, launch systems, space science, downstream applications, and regulatory and operational services, there’s rising demand for skilled professionals across many disciplines. Building a high-impact space organisation requires well-defined team structures, clear roles, strong collaboration, and alignment across engineering, science, operations, regulation, and commercial functions. If you are applying for roles via UKSpaceJobs.co.uk or hiring into your company, this guide will help you understand the principal roles you’ll find in a space team, how they interact during mission lifecycles, what skills UK employers expect, salary norms, common challenges, and best practice for structuring space teams that succeed.