Stephen Berrisford

Planning law and policy consultant

 

 

Areas of expertise

 

  • Qualified lawyer & urban planner

  • Law & policy reform

  • Strategic advice and planning

  • Project management

Sectoral experience

 

  • Urban & rural land reform

  • Planning law & policy

  • Urban renewal

  • Sustainable forest management

  • Water resource management

  • Biodiversity planning

Country exposure

 

  • South Africa

  • Ethiopia

  • Kenya

  • Lesotho

  • Mozambique

  • Namibia

  • Senegal

  • Tunisia

  • Zambia

 

Professional experience (detailed work experience in annexure)

 

 

Qualifications

 

 

Publications and networks

 

Berrisford, S 1998 ‘Law and Urban Change in the New South Africa’ in Illegal Cities: Law and Urban Change in Developing Countries, edited by Fernandes, E and Varley, A (London: Zed Books).

Berrisford, S 1997 ‘Implementation of the Development Facilitation Act’, South African Planning Journal 42 June 1997.

Berrisford & Fernandes (in press) South-South: Urban law in Brazil and South Africa, Ashgate, London

 

Member of the International Research Group on Law and Urban Space (IRGLUS).  Papers at international conferences in South Africa, Mozambique, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and the UK.  Regular guest lecturer and examiner at the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Pretoria and Cape Town.

 

Contact details

 

163 Barry Hertzog Avenue, Emmarentia, 2195, Johannesburg, South Africa

Telephone +27 11 646 7305 – Fax +27 11 646 7352 - Mobile +27 82 460 1962 - asberris@mweb.co.za

 

 Detailed work experience: Annexure to Stephen Berrisford’s CV

 

Consulting projects

 

Project

Client

Date

Development of an Urban Development Policy and Strategy Paper for the African Development Bank (policy consultant)

African Development Bank, Tunis, via Hifab International, Stockholm

October – December 2005

Supplementation & implementation of new EIA Regulations in Gauteng (team leader)

Gauteng Province Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Environment, Johannesburg

October 2005 – March 2006

Design of the National Upgrading Support Programme for South Africa (policy consultant)

Department of Housing, Pretoria, via Cities Alliance, Washington, DC

August – December 2005

Review of Ethiopian draft urban planning law (legal consultant)

GTZ-Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

September – December 2005

Investigation of the possibility of implementing Regulatory Impact Assessment in South Africa (legal and policy consultant)

Office of the President and National Treasury, Pretoria, via the Small Business Project, Johannesburg

March – September 2005

Identification of requirements for integrated land reform and housing projects in South Africa (legal & policy consultant)

World Bank, Pretoria

March- June 2005

Ministerial advisor on urban land to SA government delegation at AU/UN-Habitat African Ministers Conference on Housing & Urban Development

Minister of Housing, government of South Africa

February – March 2005

Strategic advisor to drafting team of KZN Development bill (legal & policy consultant)

Department of Traditional & Local Government Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, South Africa

January – May 2005

Development of a legal framework for land use management in Mbombela Municipality (legal & planning consultant)

Mbombela (Nelspruit) Municipality and Mpumalanga Provincial Government, South Africa

October 2003 – January 2006

Study into rationalisation and modernisation of the planning regulatory environment to eliminate constraints to land and infrastructure development (policy consultant)

National Treasury, Pretoria, South Africa

August 2004 – February 2005

Study into evictions in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya (participant in international NGO team)

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Geneva, Switzerland

July 2004

Ministerial review of the appeals against the decision to authorise the N2 Toll Road between Durban and East London (member expert panel)

Minister for Environment Affairs & Tourism, Pretoria, South Africa

May – August 2004

Review of the KwaZulu-Natal Draft Planning & Development Law (chair of expert review panel)

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, Department of Traditional & Local Government Affairs, South Africa

March – May 2004

Study of Urban Land & Housing Laws in Southern Africa (Lesotho, Mozamique, Namibia and Zambia) (project co-coordinator, with Ashira Consulting)

UN-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya

February – June 2004

Upgrading Land Management in Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya (legal consultant)

Swedesurvey, Sweden, funded by SIDA

January 2004 - ongoing

Developing prototype Regional State land management regulations in Ethiopia & implementation framework (legal consultant)

Ministry for Federal Affairs, Ethiopia, funded by the World Bank

November 2003 – ongoing

Policy review, institutional capacity assessment and provincial analyses for National Biodiversity & Action Plan (lead consultant & team leader)

Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, South Africa

September 2003 – February 2004

Designing a Business Plan for the Inner City of Johannesburg, in association with IOD-SA

Johannesburg Development Agency

August – November 2003

Facilitating strategic link between Cities of Johannesburg & Addis Ababa (facilitator and strategic advisor)

Cities Alliance, Washington DC/Nairobi

July-October 2003

Identification of strategic options for implementation of the SA Government’s urban regeneration tax credit (policy consultant)

SA Cities Network, South Africa

May-June 2003

Identification of principles on which to base new planning legislation for the province of KwaZulu-Natal (legal & planning advisor)

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Planning & Development Commission, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

May-June 2003

Ministerial advisor on EIA appeals (Cosmo City & Gautrain) (legal & planning advisor)

MEC (provincial minister) for Environment Affairs, Gauteng province, South Africa

April 2003 – May 2004

Finalising urban land management regulations for Addis Ababa (legal consultant)

Addis Ababa city government, funded by GTZ-Ethiopia

March-April 2003

Policy advisor on federal urban land legislation (legal & policy consultant)

Ministry for Federal Affairs, government of Ethiopia, funded by World Bank

February-March 2003

Strengthening the capacity of the National Botanical Institute to implement bioregional planning (legal & policy consultant)

National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa

February – April 2003

Ministerial expert adviser on development planning and economic development for the national Urban Renewal Programme (planning consultant and team leader)

Minister for Provincial & Local Government, Pretoria, South Africa

November 2002

Rationalization and alignment of proposed environmental planning legislation (legal & planning consultant)

Department of Environment Affairs & Tourism, Pretoria, South Africa

June-December 2002

Streamlining procedures for afforestation permits (legal consultant)

Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Pretoria, with Fractal Forests, Durban

July-December 2002

Operational strategy for Gauteng government’s land function (legal & policy consultant)

Gauteng Department of Development Planning & Local Government, with IUCN-SA

July-September 2002

Land management regulations for Addis Ababa (legal consultant & drafter)

GTZ, Addis Ababa, with Institute for Housing Studies & Urban Development, Netherlands

April–October 2002

Integrating legislation governing environmental management and land use planning (legal consultant)

Department of Environment Affairs & Tourism, Pretoria

February-December 2002

Master Plan for Dinokeng region in North East Gauteng province (planning & legal consultant and team leader)

Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment & Land Affairs, Johannesburg, with IUCN-SA, Pretoria, and IOD-SA, Jo’burg

March-December 2001

Development of brief & terms of reference for campus strategic spatial plan (planning consultant)

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

September-December 2001

Establishment of Principles, Criteria & Standards for Sustainable Forest Management (legal & policy consultant)

Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Pretoria, with Institute for Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg

May 2001-March 2002

Identification of implementation strategies for Metropolitan Open Space System (legal consultant)

Durban Metro Council, Durban, with Palmer Development Group, Johannesburg

February-July 2001

White Paper on Land-use & Spatial Planning (principal drafter)

Ministry for Agriculture & Land Affairs, Pretoria

May 2000-March 2001

Legislative review for Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (legal consultant)

Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment & Land Affairs, Johannesburg

April 2001

Establishment of Key Performance Indicators for local government (legal consultant)

Department of Provincial & Local Government, Pretoria, with Palmer Development Group, Johannesburg

December 2000-July 2001

Appraisal of land reform, gender & environment project proposal (lead consultant)

Danish Cooperation for Environment & Development (DANCED), Pretoria, with CDR Consulting, Copenhagen

December 2000

Integration of environmental planning into land reform process in South Africa (legal & policy consultant)

Danish Cooperation for Environment & Development (DANCED), Pretoria, with Scanagri, Copenhagen

September 2000-April 2001

Integration of land-use management instruments and integrated development plans (legal & planning consultant)

GTZ, Pretoria

May-August 2000

Clarification of constitutional aspects of municipal planning function (legal consultant)

Cape Metro Council, Cape Town

July 2000

Model contracts for service agreements between water services authorities & providers (legal & policy consultant)

Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Pretoria, with Palmer Development Group, Johannesburg

August-October 2000

Institutional options for water & sanitation services in Durban & Pietermaritzburg (legal & policy consultant)

Umgeni Water Board, Pietermaritzburg, with Palmer Development Group, Johannesburg

May-September 2000

 

 

Employment history

 

Position

Duties

Date

Director: Land Development Facilitation, Department of Land Affairs, Pretoria

Implementation of the Development Facilitation Act: the first post-apartheid planning and land development legislation.  Including the establishment of provincial planning tribunals and the guidance & funding of municipal plans.

Establishment and management of the national Development & Planning Commission.

Advising the Minister on planning and land development related matters.

Managing DANCED project on environment & land reform.

Administration of the Town and Regional Planners’ Act.

1996-2000

Principal Planner, Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council

Policy and legal frameworks for the release of land for low income housing and the integration of the land use control systems of Johannesburg and Soweto.

1995

Planning professional, Cape Town City Council

Regulatory frameworks for planning & development of city railways land.

Participation in high-level policy development in support of the 1994 political transition.

Development control.

Author of discussion documents on planning appeals & growth management.

1993-1995

Advisor on planning & development legislation, Office of the President

Part-time secondment from Cape Town & Johannesburg councils.

1994-1995