Shirehall 'greener than you think' say campaigners against demolition

The Abbey Foregate site is being vacated and sold off by Shropshire Council, with one of a number of reasons for the decision being its poor energy efficiency.

But Save Our Shirehall, a group keen for the building to remain, say its energy efficiency has improved year on year for the last three years.

The council's HQ was given a C rating on the scale of A to G on its current Display Energy Certificate, dated February 2020.

The campaign group say the Shirehall's carbon output is also falling due to improvements including the extensive solar panels covering most of the flat roof areas of the building. Major plans for work to improve the building's energy efficiency were shelved in July in favour of vacating the site for a smaller HQ in Shrewsbury town centre.

John Crowe, from Save Our Shirehall, said: "More should be done and can be done to improve this significant Shirehall building's carbon efficiency performance. Several items of efficiency were included in the extensive refurbishment plan as council policy agreed less than two years ago, never advanced and now ditched in July.

"Significant energy efficiency gains, which mean carbon reduction and running costs gains, can be made to the Shirehall with the installations such as ground source heat pumping, re-glazing with Pilkington's 'K' glass, combined heat and power units and solar generated battery storage. With confidence into the future, imaginative commitment and some investment our Shirehall could improve from its already better than average 'C'."

Jessicah Kendrick, a founder member of the group, added: "Most people now get it that best efforts need to be made urgently to ensure climate security for all future life. Our Shirehall can improve its contribution while still being safe offices for Shirehall staff who like working there when serving all Shropshire people - including those who need to visit the Shirehall for a host of practical reasons."

Addressing the energy issue, council leader Peter Nutting said: “It’s important to stress that Shirehall is no longer fit for purpose for its current use. It generates over 1,000 tonnes of carbon per year and in the financial year 2019/20 running costs associated with the building were £1.3m, including £353,000 per year for gas and electricity.

"Changing fire regulations post Grenfell also mean that there are now significant restrictions in the use of the building. And making Shirehall fit for future use would require a multi-million pound investment.”