Stephen Harrison

Born 24^th April 1951  Stoke Newington, London

Primary School – St Mathias, Newington Green

Secondary School – WoodberryDown Comprehensive

Qualifications and Training

Diploma in Town and Country Planning  (Gloucestershire College of Art and Design 1975)

MSc Environmental Planning and Design (Aston University 1977)

Employment History

1. Town Planner, London Borough of Islington (1973-74).  Conservation Team
2. Research Officer, Aston University.  Employment Planning (Home Office contract  1979)
3. Lecturer, Town Planning, Birmingham Polytechnic  (1978 – 80)
4. Senior Lecturer, Gloucestershire University  Senior Lecturer in Countryside Planning, Environmental Policy, Environmental Education (1980 – 1993

Concurrent with:

Creator and Director of Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Education  (1984-92).  At its peak, the GCEE had a staffing compliment of 20 graduates and 20 unskilled/semi-skilled staff preparing a wide range of educational materials and undertaking practical conservation projects.  The GCEE employed over 300 trainees on the then Manpower Services Commission Community Enterprise Programme, the Community Programme, Employment Action, and Employment Training schemes.

Parks Operations Manager,  London Borough of Southwark  (1993 –1998)

60 staff,  £2M revenue budget, £3M capital programmes  (SRB, lottery projects, other Council capital works).   The Southwark Parks Ranger Service achieved a national reputation (see DOE Report People Parks and Cities 1996).

Other responsibilities inc. (1995)

• Southwark Summer University – a major educational initiative aimed at motivating Southwark children towards post-compulsory education through raising achievement.

European Activities

Founding Member of the European Heritage and Environment Campuses 1990, with a wide network of European contacts.

Seminars, Conferences and Publications 

Regular speaker at local, national and international conferences inc.

New York  Botanic Gardens Education Network  1996

Nimes, Urban Development and Green Belts 1995  Also seminars in Avignon, Tours,

London University Guildhall – Modern Apprenticeships 1997

Parks Conferences in London, Manchester, Southampton

Countryside Recreation Network, Sheffield. 1997

Countryside Commission Staff Conference 1998

Regular articles and publications in a variety of media and professional journals.

Professional and Charitable Commitments

Member of:       

Environment Committee of the National Training Organisation LANTRA

• National Framework Committee for Modern Apprenticeships in Environmental Conservation
• Countryside Training Service (Executive Committee)
• Landscape Foundation (Steering Group). 
• ILAM Parks and Open Spaces Panel

Additional activities

• Chair of Trustees to Southwark Festival – the major performance arts festival in Southwark and the Pool of London .
• Trustee to the Millennium Bridge – the pedestrian bridge from St.Pauls to Bankside. The Blade of Light: The Story of London’s Millennium Bridge where Stephen Harrison is listed as a trustee (p. 150).
• Member and Chair of London’s Larder SRB Partnership Board (Borough Market)
• Chair of the Bankside Residents Forum
• Trustee to Art in the Park (Burgess Park, London)
• Member of the Bankside Healthy Living Centres Steering Group.

My Business Life 1998 onwards