A project aimed at boosting Hereford, Shropshire and Worcestershire’s excellence in environmental technologies has been launched with support from the Rural Regeneration Zone.
There are 400 known environmental businesses in the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire – which accounts for more than one-third of all of the companies in the environmental technologies in the West Midlands.
The Marches Environmental Technologies Collaboration and Innovation Network (MetNet) is being funded by the Advantage West Midlands Rural Regeneration Zone and overseen by Shropshire County Council.
Two new members of staff – project manager Patricia Head and project officer Jane Yardley – are now in post to work with companies, business support organisations, universities and funding providers to help drive the sector forward.
A number of RRZ-funded projects have already been set up in the Marches area and the Network will aim to make sure businesses are making the most of the opportunities.
This has included Re:think, a project piloted in the Rural Regeneration Zone to provide funding and support for companies seeking to introduce renewable energy technology.
Another major project, Sharenergy, is working with community groups who are interested in establishing community-owned sustainable energy solutions.
Additionally, Leader groups, the Shropshire Tourism Grant and Rural Enterprise Grants schemes are all offering opportunities for businesses to secure funding for sustainability projects.
Richard Heathcote, Rural Regeneration Zone Board member and Sustainable Development Manager at Bulmers, Heineken UK Ltd in Hereford, explained the aims of the Network.
He said: “The Marches – and Shropshire in particular – have an established and recognised excellence in terms of environmental technologies and sustainability with hundreds of successful companies in this sector.
“There are also a number of projects to support businesses and communities in adopting sustainable technologies.
“What we clearly need, however, is to find a way to co-ordinate this activity and strengthen it in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which is where the MetNet comes in.
“Now we have the team in post, we will be better placed to establish just how many environmental technologies companies we have in the Marches, signpost them to the right support to help them grow and, importantly, get them to work more closely together.
“Environmental technologies are a crucial part of the economy in the Marches, this investment will help to strengthen what will, in years to come, be an increasingly vital and lucrative industry in which the Rural Regeneration Zone can be a leading player.”