Oxford City Council has appointed Feltham Construction as its development partner to build new council homes on a former depot site in Littlemore.
Following acquisition of the land from Oxfordshire County Council, the council is preparing to begin the construction of 10 low-carbon homes in Lanham Way.
The development will include six semi-detached two-bedroom houses and four semi-detached three-bedroom houses.
The new homes will be built in brick, with feature front gables. Living spaces will be orientated to maximise sunlight and link directly to outdoor amenity space.
Front gardens with low stone boundary walls mean they will blend in with the character of the adjacent conservation area.
Work is expected to start onsite in January 2024 and take around a year to complete.
Affordable
When completed, five homes will be let at social rent to families on the council’s housing register. The remaining five homes will be sold as shared ownership.
Social rent is calculated with reference to the size and value of a home and average regional incomes. This means Oxford council tenants typically pay around 40% of the rent a private landlord would charge for the same home.
House prices in Oxford are more than 12 times average household earnings, compared to eight times average earnings for England as a whole.
Shared ownership helps people onto the housing ladder by buying a share – between 10% and 75% initially – for their home. This makes home ownership a reality for people like key workers, first-time buyers and under-40s who would otherwise be priced out of Oxford. It also helps people to downsize and those coming out of relationships, it really is a tenure for all.
Sustainable
The development will take a ‘fabric first’ approach, with enhanced insulation and air tightness standards. This maximises energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions through the way buildings are designed.
Air source heat pumps create three times as much heat for the same cost as standard electric heaters and these will provide heating and hot water. Rooftop solar PV panels will generate electricity for use during the day.
The development is on track to achieve an average 64.8% beyond government carbon reduction targets – exceeding the council’s planning requirement to go 40% beyond national targets.
The new homes will be built using timber frame construction. This means creating large panels of buildings in a factory before being transported to site and assembled. Timber frame construction is faster, has a lower carbon footprint and is less disruptive to communities than traditional builds.
All homes will be fully adaptable to meet people’s changing needs throughout their lives.
There will be nine parking spaces with EV charging. These will include three Blue Badge spaces and one car club space.
Other partners
The council’s housing company OX Place will act as development managers for the new homes. They have been designed by Jessop and Cook Architects.
Comment
“I’m very pleased to reach this milestone in delivering these much needed homes. We’re committed to providing more genuinely affordable homes through social rent and shared housing, and to making sure we build for a low carbon future.”
Councillor Nigel Chapman, Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies
“We look forward to the opportunity to work again with Oxford City Council, developing quality homes for the local community using sustainable construction methods which will support the council on their journey to zero carbon by 2030.”
Simon Lampard, Construction Director at Feltham Construction
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