Work starts on 18 new flats for social rent in Rose Hill

The Oxford City Council project, on the site of the old scout hut and advice centre in Ashhurst Way, will consist of two blocks with a mix of one- and two-bedroom flats.

All the flats, which will be built to the Lifetime Homes standard, will be owned and managed by the City Council as social housing.

They will include new cycle parking for residents and photovoltaic panels on roofs.

The flats will be developed by Feltham Construction on behalf of the City Council’s wholly-owned housing company, OCHL (Oxford City Housing Limited). Feltham Construction will operate within the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Separately, the City Council started work last month on 25 shared-ownership flats in Desborough Crescent on the site of the old community centre.

The City Council opened the new £4.7m Rose Hill Community Centre, in Carole’s Way, in 2016. The centre features a gym, meeting and conference facilities, social club, advice centre, youth suite, health hub and changing facilities.

Both housing developments are due for completion in early 2021. The City Council will own and manage the homes at both sites.

Social rent is calculated as half the cost of market rents in the local area, plus any service charges for communal facilities.

“Oxford desperately needs new genuinely affordable housing, so I am delighted that work has started to build new social housing in Ashhurst Way.

“There are very few large sites for housing left within Oxford’s boundaries, so we need to maximise the use of these smaller sites whenever they come up to build new homes for the city’s young people.”

Councillor Mike Rowley, cabinet member for affordable housing