Oxford City Council has initiated a £7 million project to retrofit over 300 social homes in the city.
VINCI Facilities and Oxford Direct Services (ODS) have been appointed to carry out the work.
VINCI Facilities has begun work on 216 homes, while ODS will focus on the remaining 100.
The project is partially funded by the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
The initiative aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or below.
Planned upgrades include loft and wall insulation, draught-proofing and window improvements.
The council expects these enhancements to result in warmer homes, reduced energy consumption and better ventilation.
The project is part of the council’s broader goal to ensure that 95% of its 8,000 council homes achieve an EPC rating of C or above by 2030.
Currently, around 2,000 council homes have an EPC rating of D or below.
Achieving the 95% target is estimated to require up to £152 million in total investment.
Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities 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.”
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