OX Place has opened public consultation on its plans to build new affordable, low carbon homes in Bertie Place.
Oxford City Council’s housing company aims to build 31 new homes on Bertie Place recreation ground. The site has been earmarked for housing development since 2013.
OX Place held a drop-in community open evening at South Oxford Community Centre on Tuesday (1 November). This showcased their latest designs and gave people the opportunity to meet the development team, ask questions and give their feedback through a consultation survey.
More than 100 people attended the open evening.
Consultation remains open and will now allow people who were unable to attend this event to have their say through an online or paper questionnaire.
Affordable, low carbon homes
All the proposed new homes in Bertie Place will be affordable. The current plans are for 22 council homes let at genuinely affordable social rent and nine sold for shared ownership.
The council homes will be made up of 10 three-bed houses, 10 one-bed flats and 2 two-bed flats. The shared ownership homes will all be two-bed houses.
A new public play area and multi-use games area (MUGA) will be built on the site to replace the recreation ground’s existing equipment. A nature trail will also be created in the adjacent Cold Harbour site and a new, accessible bridge built to link the area to Bertie Place.
While energy efficiency measures are yet to be finalised, OX Place’s ‘fabric first’ approach mean all its developments feature enhanced insulation and air tightness standards. The council’s planning requirements are for new homes to go 40% beyond carbon reduction targets in 2022 building regulations.
The new homes will be electrically heated – meaning they will become zero carbon when the electricity grid decarbonises.
Take part
Information from the community event and an online consultation survey is now available to complete online.
Paper copies are also available from South Oxford Community Centre in Lake Street at the following times:
- staffed opening hours – 9am to 12pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
- community café – Tuesday 11am to 2pm, Thursday 2pm to 4pm
Online consultation is open until 23:59 on Friday 18 November. People completing paper surveys can post their responses through the community centre’s letterbox.
Anyone with questions or who needs a paper questionnaire and is unable to visit the community centre should call Rob Jeffs on 07483 010462 or email rjeffs@oxford.gov.uk
Next steps
Feedback from the community event and responses to the current consultation will inform a planning application, which OX Place aims to submit within the next six months.
If planning permission is granted work could start on the new homes in late 2023.
Comment
“We know there’s a lot of interest in our proposals for new affordable and low carbon homes in Bertie Place. If you weren’t able to attend our community consultation event earlier this week you can now have your say until 18 November by completing an online or paper survey. OX Place aims to build the right homes for Oxford and we welcome constructive feedback because that makes a real difference in helping shape our developments.”
Helen Horne, Managing Director of OX Place
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