Centre for Environment and Rural Affairs

The Centre for Environment and Rural Affairs (CERA) supports research linked to our environmental courses, as well as serving as a conduit for obtaining and facilitating work on a regional, national and international level. CERA's work feeds directly into the rural agenda, giving students and staff opportunities to interact with the real world at all levels. The centre is responsible for a number of exciting projects including:

• With the support of the East of England Development Agency, delivering a £200,000 feasibility study to research the development of an environmental village. The village will be aimed at demonstrating cutting edge and environmentally sustainable building techniques as a brown field site, as well as establishing links between academia and the environmental industries.
• Delivering rural development and environmental expertise to European countries about to join the European Union and to developing Third World countries.

Visit the CERA website for more information about the work of CERA.

Rural Business Centre

CERA is based in the Rural Business Centre on the lordships site of Writtle College. The Rural Business Centre has been designed to explore the benefits of adopting an ecological approach to building. The centre is an example of a super-insulated, energy efficient building