Adam - Team Leader (Planning)

Tell us a little bit about yourself (as much as you want to reveal!) – your work background, your interests…

I’m Adam, I am 43, I live in Salisbury and I’m a qualified town planner. I was born and brought up in Bristol before going to uni for five years in Cardiff, before moving to London where I worked for a few years and became a team leader in planning. I then moved back to the South West working for Salisbury District Council before taking up my current role.

What would you say is the best thing about working at Wiltshire Council, and your job specifically?

I love the flexibility of working at Wiltshire Council. You can work from home, or one of our three main office hubs throughout Wiltshire in Salisbury, Trowbridge or Chippenham if that suits you. You can also work very flexible hours and days from 7.00am to 7.00pm and everything in between

What’s the best way to start the day?

I love early starts, I am usually up and out before anyone else is around with a strong coffee to start my day!

What is the most meaningful part of your role?

Helping people achieve what they want to build and helping them through the obstacles in the planning process

What do you wish you knew more about?

Planning – you never learn it all!

What would you be doing if you weren’t in your current role?

I always wanted to be a landscape architect, I have a love of plants and I’m a frustrated designer

Who inspires you?

People with a huge amount of get up and go and a zest and love for life

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?

The year before last I went to a little island off the Scottish coast called Colonsay which took me a day and a half to get to and was deserted. it was great

What was the most memorable gift you’ve received?

Probably the ZX Spectrum computer myself and my sisters were given for Christmas in the 1980’s, it was the best present ever!

Who would you most like to swap places with for a day?

I’d love to swap places with someone really famous: someone say like David Beckham just to see what being famous is really like for a day and then being able to go back to my old life at the end of it

What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?

Nick Drake – Northern Skies, it’s a bit soppy but I love it

What was the best concert you have ever attended?

Late 1990’s a band called K- Passa at the Bristol Thekla ….. heady days

What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

Er…. I went on Collossus at Thorpe Park (that was quite daring for me!)

What are three interesting facts about you?

I have a masters degree in urban design and a general certificate in horticulture from the Royal Horticultural Society

I once ‘wrote off’ a police car…

I once chose my sofa with Joss Stone

What is your favourite book or film, and why?

My favourite film is the (original) Italian Job starring Michael Caine because I love the music and the classic cars, my favourite book is ‘The Beach’ by Alex Garland because it’s a bit of escapism

What is the first thing you bought with your own money?

The first thing I remember buying was a huge stacking stereo system which took me a year to save up my paper round money!

What would you say to someone who is thinking of applying for a role at Wiltshire Council?

Be prepared for something different. Wiltshire council planning is all about encouraging the right sort of economic development and not stopping it. We listen to what is wanted and needed locally and act accordingly