Oxford City Council's Cabinet has backed the overall direction of a new roadmap that sets out how the council plans to improve the energy efficiency.
Oxford City Council's Cabinet has backed the overall direction of a new roadmap that sets out how the council plans to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of its housing stock over the next five years.
The new Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Property Retrofit and Sustainability Roadmap 2026-2031 (PDF) sets out the council's approach to improving its 8,000 council homes, helping residents live in warmer, healthier and more energy-efficient homes.
The roadmap sets out the council’s ambition for 95% of council homes to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2030, aligning with new government minimum energy efficiency requirements for social housing.
The council continues to work towards the goal of becoming a net zero city by 2040.
Around 81% of Oxford's emissions come from buildings, with domestic properties accounting for the largest share of building-related emissions.
Roadmap
The roadmap is the first step towards improving the energy efficiency and sustainability of Oxford City Council's 8,000 council homes.
It sets out a long-term programme of retrofit works designed to help create warmer, healthier and more energy-efficient homes while reducing carbon emissions from the council's housing stock.
The plan proposes a "fabric first" approach, prioritising improvements to the building itself, such as insulation, windows and ventilation, before considering wider low-carbon technologies. It also outlines future work to explore low-carbon heating systems, renewable energy generation and other sustainability measures where appropriate.
Following Cabinet's backing of the roadmap, the council will continue developing detailed delivery plans, identifying external funding opportunities and bringing forward individual retrofit and improvement programmes for approval through the normal budget-setting and governance processes. Progress will be monitored against the ambition of achieving an average EPC C rating across the housing stock by 2030.
Benefits for residents
Alongside reducing carbon emissions, the roadmap highlights the benefits that energy-efficient homes can bring for residents.
Warmer, better insulated homes can help improve comfort, reduce issues associated with damp and cold properties, and support the health and wellbeing of tenants.
Comment
"This roadmap demonstrates our commitment to making council homes more sustainable while ensuring residents benefit from warmer, healthier places to live that are cheaper to heat."
"It sets out a clear long-term direction for improving the energy efficiency of council homes across Oxford. By investing in improvements to our housing stock, we can help create healthier homes for residents while supporting our environmental commitments and lower bills for our tenants. "
"The roadmap provides a framework for future investment and improvement programmes, helping ensure our housing stock remains fit for the future."
Councillor Anna Railton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Zero Carbon Oxford
