Meet the team

Alex Lawrie – Co-operative Development Consultant

Alex is a long-standing co-operator, as a founder member of many societies including Stepping Stones and Cornerstone Housing Co-ops, Footprint Workers Co-operative, Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust, Ecological Land Co-op and GO-OP, and SWCD itself. 

Alex studied Politics at Leeds University. In 2018 he gained a Masters Degree in Strategy, Change and Leadership from the University of Bristol. Alex also became a SFEDI accredited-operative advisor in 2008. Alex is also the author of ‘Empowering the Earth’ (Green Books, 2000), and Simply Finance (Co-operatives UK,2011).

Talk to Alex about: Alex’s role in SWCD includes work on housing co-ops, community rail, car clubs, local complementary currencies, secondary co-operatives, and co-operative development infrastructure.

Contact: alex@southwest.coop, 07963 917472

Rob has worked in a variety of roles and organisations, including the world leading policy institute Chatham House and Imperial College London. He has experience managing large projects, grants and events. He was until recently Vice Chair – Communication for Labour in Somerset. He now works as an activist and board member for several local groups focused on social justice. He is a Director of Taunton Pride, a board member of Somerset Community Credit Union and now the Supporter Engagement Manager for Alliance Now UK.

Talk to Rob about: Grant Funding and New Clients

Contact: rob@southwest.coop, 03004 562265

To find out more about SWCD in general, see our About Page:

To find out how our co-operative works, you can download our rulebook.

South West Co-operative Development Limited
Registered as a Multistakeholder Community Benefit Society: 31193R
Registered office address: 10 East Reach, Taunton TA1 3EW
Office phone: 0300 456 2265
Email: development@southwest.coop