Developers selected to deliver 2,500 low carbon homes across Oxfordshire

Seven developers have been chosen to help Oxford City Housing Ltd (OCHL) build more than 2,500 low carbon homes across Oxfordshire in the next 10 years.

Barratt Developments, Equans, Hill Group and Osborne have been chosen as eligible bidders for large projects worth more then £8m, with Buildeco, Feltham Construction and Impact Modular in the running to deliver smaller developments.

The appointment of development partners is part of OCHL’s £1bn sustainable housing development framework for building new homes.

OCHL will work with chosen developers to build homes that deliver a 40% carbon reduction from the 2021 building regulations coming into effect in June or a 70% reduction below current standards, alongside Passivhaus equivalent standard homes and zero carbon homes for regulated and unregulated energy.

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery, said: ‘This is great news, and a significant step forwards for our housing company. OCHL is a social impact developer committed to building the right homes for Oxfordshire, where all six of our county’s councils have declared a climate emergency. This means low carbon homes now, on the road to zero carbon by 2030.’

There is high demand for new housing in Oxford, with more than 2,600 households currently on the Council’s housing waiting list.

Helen Horne, Managing Director of OCHL, added: ‘OCHL’s touchstones are good design, high quality and low carbon, and the developers we’ve chosen for our sustainable development framework also embody our principles. We look forward to working together to build the homes that Oxfordshire needs.’

In related news, a £19m government investment is expected to supply greener and more affordable low carbon heating for thousands of homes and buildings across the UK.

The funding will go towards setting up five new heat networks in Bristol, Liverpool, London and Worthing, providing households with a more cost-effective alternative to installing individual, energy-intensive heating solutions like gas boilers.

Photo by Toa Heftiba