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Oxford City Council appoints contractors for £7m retrofit project
Oxford City Council has appointed two contractors to work on a £7m retrofit project.
The local authority has selected Vinci Facilities and Oxford Direct Services (ODS) to improve 316 social homes in the city.
Vinci Facilities has already started work on 216 homes, while ODS will work on the remaining 100. The council said this was its largest retrofit project to date.
The project is part-funded by the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). It will focus on adding loft and wall insulation, draught-proofing and window upgrades to bring the homes to have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above.
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Oxford City Council said it expected the improved homes to be warmer, consume less energy and be better ventilated, helping the health of vulnerable residents.
The council aims to get an average of 95% of its 8,000 council homes to an EPC C or above by 2030.
The local authority currently has around 2,000 council homes with an EPC D or below. Independent consultants estimate that meeting the 95% target could cost up to £152m in total.
Inside Housing asked the council for more information on where the homes in the latest retrofit project are located.
Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing and communities Oxford City Council, said: “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.”
The SHDF is now on its third wave, worth a total of £1.21bn, which distributes grant to housing providers to spend on energy efficiency upgrades.
Wave 3 offers more flexibility than previous waves of the SHDF, as well as an optional grant incentive for landlords who upgrade homes on the gas grid to low-carbon heat systems.
All grant funding for Wave 3 must be spent by the end of March 2028, while projects must be delivered by the end of September 2028.
This week it was revealed that the Competition and Markets Authority was assessing Wave 3 of the SHDF under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
In September, Oxford City Council acquired 111 affordable homes from house builder Hill Group on its 317-home Canalside development in Oxford North.
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