Oxford City Council has appointed VINCI Facilities and ODS (Oxford Direct Services) to work on a £7 million project to retrofit over 300 social homes in the city.
VINCI Facilities has started work on 216 homes, and ODS will work on the remaining 100. This is the Council’s largest retrofit project to date.
This ambitious and exciting project, which is part-funded by the government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), aims to improve the energy efficiency of 316 social homes with an EPC (energy performance certificate) of D or below, and the wellbeing of tenants.
It will focus on retrofitting energy efficiency features to existing buildings, including loft and wall insulation, draught-proofing, and window upgrades.
The improvements will create warmer, healthier, and more sustainable homes. Expected benefits could include:
- an increase in comfort as homes will be warmer especially during colder months
- lower energy consumption and smaller carbon footprints, contributing to a cleaner and greener Oxford and helping the Council meet its carbon targets
- better-ventilated homes which can help to reduce respiratory issues and improve overall health, particularly for vulnerable residents
- the creation of local job opportunities and a boost to the green economy, benefiting the wider Oxford community.
Why this is needed
The council has a target of getting an average of 95% of its 8,000 council homes to an EPC C or above by 2030.
Oxford City Council currently has around 2,000 council homes with an EPC D or below and achieving the 95% target will require substantial investment. Independent consultants estimate this could cost up to £152 million in total.
Comment
“I’m really pleased that we’ve reached this milestone and am excited to see the work begin and then homes start to feel the benefits.
“This project is a significant step towards a more sustainable Oxford; however, we know on its own, it is not enough to get us to our target of bringing 95% of council homes up to EPC C by 2030.
“We will need significant, sustained government funding to achieve the target and will continue to pursue this.”
Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities
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