POS (Planning Officers Society)

What POS (Planning Officers Society) does

Planning Officers Society (POS) is a UK-based, non-profit professional membership organisation representing public-sector town planners in England. Founded around 2000–2001 and structured as a private limited company (company number 6709078) and registered charity (charity number 1140770), POS represents over 3,500 individual planners working across 80% of English local authorities and public sector organisations. Its primary product is a tiered membership — organisational membership for local planning authorities priced from £250 to £450 annually based on population, plus £25 individual memberships for planners outside member organisations and an associate tier for peripheral participants.

POS monetises through three streams: organisational membership dues, individual membership fees, and POS Enterprises Ltd, a wholly-owned trading subsidiary that delivers fee-for-service specialist training, learning groups (Development Management, CIL, viability), in-house training, and advisory services. POS Enterprises engages with over 100 authorities in learning groups and over 30 authorities in CIL groups. There is no disclosed revenue, venture backing, or external funding; the organisation operates on member-supported economics.

Beyond core membership, POS operates an ecosystem of specialist networks (Spatial Planning, Development Management, Young POS, Minerals & Waste, regional networks) and affiliated diversity and inclusion groups (Planning Out, Women in Planning, BAME Planners Network, Neurodiversity in Planning). It produces publications, manifesto papers, and best-practice guidance, and holds a formal role in government consultations on planning legislation — institutionalised through a 5-year Concordat signed with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in 2020. Geographic scope is restricted to England; planners in Scotland and Wales are referred to Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) and the Planning Officers Society for Wales respectively. POS is supported by a small secretariat (1–10 employees) based at a registered office in Leicester, with governance provided by a Board of Trustees drawn from senior local-government practitioners.

Name

POS (Planning Officers Society)

Legal name

Planning Officers Society

Website

https://planningofficers.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Planning Officers Society (POS) is a UK non-profit membership body representing over 3,500 public-sector planners across 80% of English local authorities, providing membership, training, policy guidance, and professional networks, with fee-for-service consultancy via its POS Enterprises trading subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Organisational Membership: Local planning authorities and public sector organisations pay annual membership fees based on population size. This is the primary revenue stream supporting the society's operations.
2. Individual Membership: Individual planners pay £25 annual membership fee, typically when their employer is not a member organisation.
3. POS Enterprises Services: Wholly owned trading company provides specialist advice, support and training services to planning authorities and public sector clients. Revenue generated through learning groups, local planning support, development management, CIL and viability services, member and officer training, and specialist support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

POS is a UK-based membership body providing support, training, policy work, publications, and professional guidance to public sector planners in England. It offers tiered organisational and individual membership subscriptions to local planning authorities and planning professionals, and operates a wholly owned trading subsidiary, POS Enterprises, which delivers fee-for-service training, learning groups, and specialist consultancy to planning authorities.

Product overview

POS (Planning Officers Society) is a membership organization for public sector planners in England, not a software product company. Its offerings consist of membership services, POS Enterprises (a training and support subsidiary), professional networks (including Spatial Planning, Development Management, Young POS, and regional networks), publications and guidance documents, and the POS Manifesto policy papers. The organization also hosts affiliated networks for diversity and inclusion including Planning Out, Women in Planning, BAME Planners Network, and Neurodiversity in Planning. POS operates as a limited company and charity, representing over 3,500 planners across England.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• POS Membership (Organisational and Individual) Core subscription membership for local planning authorities (organisational, tiered by population size) and individual planners (£25/year), providing e-bulletins, access to consultation responses, network participation, events, CPD, guidance documents, and a collective voice in government consultations.
• POS Enterprises Training and Specialist Services Fee-for-service specialist advice, support, and training from POS Enterprises to planning authorities, including Learning Groups, Local Planning support, Development Management support, CIL and viability services, Member and Officer Training, and Specialist Support covering Green Belt appraisal and Neighbourhood planning.
• POS Publications and Guidance Research publications, good practice guidance notes, and policy documents covering strategic applications, national scheme of delegation, planning policy, and planning reform, available to members through the POS website.
• POS Networks and Events Member networks including Spatial Planning Network, Development Management Network, Young POS, Minerals and Waste Network, Subject Specialists network, regional networks across England, and POS London, plus an annual conference, regional meetings, policy forum sessions, and training events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,500+ planners represented across 80% of English local authorities
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• LSE Consulting (London School of Economics)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025POS commissioned LSE Consulting to undertake research and develop case studies on 'How many new homes are not new builds - and how can planning help to deliver more?' Research focuses on increasing housing supply through mechanisms other than new builds, including bringing vacant homes back to market, converting commercial properties, and converting existing homes.
• RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2020POS and RTPI have signed a 5-year Concordat setting out principles for joint working. This formalises collaboration between the two leading planning professional bodies in England.
• Adams HendryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPOS commissioned Adams Hendry consulting to produce best practice publication on Local Development Orders and their practical implementation (April 2025).
• Planning Officers Society for WalesminorOthersReferral partner for planners operating in Wales. POS only operates within England.
• Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS)minorOthersReferral partner for planners operating in Scotland. POS only operates within England.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM): UK-based professional membership body for ecologists and environmental managers, frequently engaged in planning consultations. Comparable as a smaller specialised professional body operating at the planning/environment interface with practitioner-led policy engagement.

Direct peers

• Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI): The chartered body for town planners in the UK with individual and organisational membership across the planning profession. Most directly comparable peer to POS as a leading planning professional body, and POS's formal partner via the 5-year Concordat.
• Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT): Member-led association for senior public sector directors responsible for planning, transport, and place-making across English local authorities. Closely comparable to POS as a public-sector planning leadership network serving English councils.
• Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA): UK-wide charity focused on planning policy reform, sustainability, and inclusive planning, with individual and corporate members. Comparable to POS as a mission-driven planning organisation that influences policy and convenes practitioners.

Regional players

• Planning Officers Society for Wales: Welsh sister organisation to POS representing local authority planners in Wales. Directly comparable body serving the parallel Welsh planning profession with a referral relationship to POS.
• Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS): Scottish equivalent of POS representing heads of planning in Scottish local authorities. Directly comparable in mission and structure but operates exclusively in Scotland, where POS explicitly does not (referral partnership in place).

Broad incumbents

• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS): Global professional body for property, land, and built environment professionals with significant overlap on planning-adjacent disciplines. Comparable as a larger chartered professional membership body serving built environment practitioners in the UK.
• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE): Long-established UK chartered professional body for civil engineers with strong public-sector engagement on infrastructure planning. Comparable as a large, established chartered membership organisation influencing policy at the planning/infrastructure intersection.
• Local Government Association (LGA): National membership body for English local authorities covering all council functions including planning. Comparable as an umbrella association that LPAs belong to, with overlapping institutional membership base though much broader remit than POS.
• Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB): Professional body for construction and building management with membership spanning built environment disciplines. Comparable as a chartered UK professional membership organisation in an adjacent built-environment sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/POSisit
• Facebookfacebook.com/Planning-Officers-Society-113715915349803
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/planning-officers-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about POS (Planning Officers Society)