The housing company owned by Oxford City Council has selected seven developers to help build more than 2,500 low carbon homes across the county in the next 10 years.
Oxford City Housing Limited (OCHL) has chosen Barratt Developments, Equans, Hill Group and Osborne as eligible bidders for large projects worth more than £8 million, 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 aims to develop more than 2,000 homes on sites across Oxfordshire in the next 10 years. The council and OCHL aim to open up the sustainable development framework to other social landlords and councils, delivering more than 2,500 homes in total.
OCHL has three requirements for sustainable homes:
- A 40 per cent carbon reduction from the 2021 building regulations which come into effect this June or a 70 per cent reduction below current standards, whichever is greater.
- Passivhaus equivalent standard.
- Zero carbon for regulated and unregulated energy, with a preference for low embodied 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.”
Helen Horne, managing director of OCHL, said: “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.”
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