James Kirkland

James handles everything that happens between a homeowner deciding they want a driveway and the council agreeing it can be built. That means vehicle crossing (dropped kerb) applications, checking whether a front garden conversion falls inside permitted development, and confirming how surface water will be dealt with before a spade goes in the ground.

He works with Glasgow City Council and the surrounding authorities — East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, South and North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire — and each one has its own forms, specification and inspection routine. Knowing which drawings an application needs, where sight lines will be questioned, and which streets have services or trees that complicate a crossing is the difference between an approval in weeks and an application that sits unanswered.

James writes the planning permission, dropped kerb and cost guides on this site, and he is deliberately conservative in them: council fees and timescales change, so the guides tell you what to confirm directly rather than quoting a figure that may already be out of date. On live projects he prepares the paperwork, submits it, and coordinates the crossing construction and inspection so the driveway installation date is not left hanging.

Experience

• Vehicle crossing applications to Glasgow City Council and neighbouring authorities
• Permitted development and permeable paving rules in Scotland
• Cost breakdowns covering excavation, disposal, sub-base, drainage and kerb works
• Coordination of crossing construction and council inspection