A group of architects, scientists and consultants from energy agencies and charities across Europe will be arriving in Shrewsbury on Monday 8th Sept for the kick-off meeting of a three year project aiming to make historic urban communities more energy efficient.

MEa are the lead partners in the porject and will be hosting the event.

The project partners from Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece and Ireland to meet for the first time and discuss developing the project.

The project is called Sustainable Energy Communities in Historic Urban Areas (SECHURBA).  Partners will take a number of case study buildings and streets throughout their chosen areas and carry out energy audits on them. They will then develop recommendations for increasing energy efficiency and installation of renewable energy sytems where appropriate. Maintaining the culture and heritage of the area is of key importance. MEA will be working closely with Planners and Conservation Officers from Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council and Shropshire County Council (who are official partners in the project).  English Heritage and the Building Research Establishment (BRE) will also be involved as specialist advisors.
  
MEA Project Manager, Nicole Solomons said "We are very excited about this new project and  hope it will help to tackle traditional constraints that many householders and businesses face when trying to carry out improvements on properties that may be listed or within a conservation area. In doing so we will help reduce energy use, and CO2 emissions in our community".

A local community steering group will be formed to take into account views of local residents in the town, and a public open event will be held to inform people about renewable energy technologies, as well as invite feedback from those living and working in Shrewsbury.  A SECHURBA project website will be launched soon to track progress of the project.

The majority of funding for the project is coming from the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, the EU's tool for funding action to encourage more efficient use of energy throughout the European Community.