Oxford City Council is letting its greenest council homes to date with the completion of eight new bungalows that are nearly zero carbon.
The council’s housing and direct services companies OX Place and ODS teamed up to deliver the new homes, built over three sites in Bracegirdle Road and Broad Oak in Wood Farm and Mortimer Drive in Marston.
The new homes are four one-bed and four two-bed bungalows and are being let at social rent to people on the housing register.
The bungalows have been designed and adapted for people with specific mobility and social needs, with new tenants matched directly from the housing register and moving in as early as next week.
Everything’s gone green
The bungalows are very nearly zero carbon for regulated energy use – that is, space and hot water heating, lighting and ventilation – as this is 96% lower carbon than in a standard home.
OX Place’s ‘fabric first’ approach means the new homes feature enhanced insulation and air tightness standards and they also have triple glazed windows. These measures significantly reduce heat loss and minimise drafts, reducing the need for heating.
The new homes also all have air source heat pumps and solar PV panels on the roof, as well as a charging point for electric vehicles.
Air source heat pumps create three times as much heat for the same cost as standard electric heaters and solar panels generate electricity that can be used in the home during the day – helping keep heating and hot water costs down.
The bungalows achieve an average of 100 A energy efficiency rating in their energy performance certificates (EPCs).
Other partners
The bungalows were designed by Ridge and Partners LLP and their development was supported with £440,000 from the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal.
Comment
“Our priorities for tackling Oxford’s housing crisis include providing more affordable homes, great homes for all and housing for a net zero carbon future. ODS and OX Place have delivered on all three of these, with eight new council homes that are genuinely affordable, specifically adapted for their tenants’ needs and virtually zero carbon.”
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery
“Our new developments are on a road to zero carbon by 2030 and I’m really pleased we’re so close to hitting that mark with the new bungalows. They’re light, airy and built to meet people’s individual needs. ODS share our social impact mission and these bungalows show we’re able to unlock the smallest sites of disused land to deliver the homes that Oxford needs.”
Helen Horne, Managing Director of OX Place
“We are immensely proud to have constructed Oxford’s greenest council homes to date, which have also been designed and adapted to meet their tenants’ specific needs. At a time when energy bills are uppermost in people’s minds, we are certain the new tenants will welcome the technologies we have installed. These will regulate energy use, including lighting, space, ventilation and hot water heating, from which we hope they will benefit for many years to come.”
Simon Howick, Managing Director of ODS
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