Starting training as a Building Surveyor with the Greater London Council in 1971, work involved various aspects of Surveying, from devising and ensuring implementation of ‘means of escape in case of fire’ in London’s hotels, through office and site experience on the GLC’s housing developments both in the London area and throughout the south-east, to working in the District Surveyors office in Brixton helping to ensure Building Control. After completing the GLC training scheme in 1977, and with a Graduate Diploma in Building Surveying from the Polytechnic of the South Bank (Brixton School of Building) a job change was made to gain experience in refurbishing old buildings in the ‘Lots Road Conservation Area’ in Chelsea, working for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
