Dr Ian Scargill studied at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was a Departmental Demonstrator in Geography, University of Oxford 1959-64 and University Lecturer in Geography in 1964- 2000. A Fellow of St Edmund Hall from 1962, he was made Emeritus Fellow in 2000.  He is the author of books and articles on France and Urban Geography. Outside of work he was an Oxford City Magistrate from 1977 to 2005, and is an Elder and Associate Church Secretary at the Summertown United Reformed Church. He is a former Chairman of Oxford Green Belt Network. Dr Scargill lives in Summertown.