Developing residential land is complicated. Every site presents a different challenge with some challenges more obvious than others.
One of the toughest challenges in development is obtaning planning consent. However, it is GCLDC's experience that the development industry is too narrowly focussed on the planning process only. For a development to be truly succesful many more aspects need to be considered at its outset. Not doing so often results in delay and repeated fees reworking proposals resolving technical, construction or phasing issues that could have been addressed at an earlier stage.
Through understanding the full development procurement process GCLDC can help you plot a course to obtaining viable and implementable planning and technical consents more quickly and for less investment.
I, Gordon Cunningham, have coordinated countless residential development projects for the last 25 years. In 2024, I founded GCLDC to offer my knowledge and experience as an independent consultant. As a former Technical Director at housebuilders Walker Group, Springfield PLC and Muir Homes, all successful and respected Scottish Housebuilders, I have an established track record of delivering residential developments in many local authority areas managing a wide range of consultants and disciplines.
As GCLDC, I can now offer my services to landowners and builders of any size. I can also assist consultants focussed on planning or the buying and selling of land. I am primarily focussed on providing strategic advice, project coordination and design support.
GCLDC is East Central Belt based but can work on projects anywhere in Scotland. If you are a landowner, builder or consultant looking for technical or strategic guidance or assistance through the development procurement process GCLDC can help.
"Working within the exceptional residential team of the Walker Group, Gordon coordinated the procurement of our developments at Tranent, North Berwick, Bonnyrigg, West Calder, Kirkliston and many others adding very significant value to all stages but in particular the pre-construction stage. Now thriving communities, each in the hundreds or thousands of houses, built by the Walker Group and numerous development partners including Persimmon, Barratt, CALA, Bellway and others, these developments were all a great success.
Now in the form of GCLDC Gordon provides a high level of invaluable knowledge of the residential design process. He has recently assessed the development potential and carried out early stage planning promotion work for a number of sites held by the Westerwood Group and continues to add value to our business."
Bruce Walker
Group Chair - Westerwood Properties
and
Former Managing Director
Walker Group
Clients of all sizes may benefit from GCLDC's expertise. Anyone wishing to obtain value from a potential residential site or project or who needs guidance or assistance through the process of turning an empty site to a completed development. Land agents or specialist planning consultants may also benefit from GCLDC's technical assistance.
Landowners seeking guidance regarding the development potential of their land or a representative to liaise with potential solicitors, designers and/or builders to the point of land sale.
Developers looking at the technical viability of a residential led site and/or developers looking to efficiently manage the site design and approvals process keeping costs and time to start to a minimum. GCLDC will be able to act as Principle Designer (PD) for the initial stages of most residential lead projects in Scotland. It is key that projects consider CDM at all stages. Client's statutory duties aside starting a project on a good footing can help enormously in later stages.
Agents seeking technical input to land offers particularly with respect to abnormal items or conditions proposed.
Planning consultants looking for GIS plans to support their research and submissions.
Ultimately, should a potential development show promise, a design team comprising further consultants will need to be pulled together. GCLDC can however independently carry out an initial information gathering exercise, site assessment and conceptual design for most sites. This initial work can save a great deal of wasted time and money. Should the project progress this work can help inform the design team and process.
GCLDC will be able to identify which specialist consultants should be appointed and the optimum time to engage and brief them.
Beyond the initial stages GCLDC can also produce various types of plans, programmes and reports that further guide the development or respond to planning and other technical requirements which often fall between the cracks of the appointed design team.
GCLDC can also monitor and coordinate the progress of planning and technical approvals being handled by whichever specialist consultants are required to achieve development commencement at the earliest possible stage.
GCLDC have also developed in house Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities utilising publicly available data. See below. Other GIS based plans and reports may be possible if data is available. These can help support early site assessment or initial stages of the planning process prior to specialist involvement.
Whilst involvement at the earliest possible stage is preferred, review and involvement in an existing project is of course possible.
In all cases successful development requires the skills and knowledge of a number of disciplines working seamlessly together. GCLDC
Contact GCLDC by emailing [email protected]
