Council Launches Retrofitting Campaign to Boost Resident Confidence
Oxford City Council has launched a new resource as part of a campaign to encourage residents to find out more about retrofitting their homes. How is retrofitting key to the council meeting its 2040 net zero target?
The Zero Carbon Oxford Roadmap has found that around 60 per cent of Oxford’s total carbon emissions come from buildings, and residential buildings make up 25 per cent of total emissions. Oxford has a goal to become a net zero carbon city by 2040, and decarbonising buildings is key to this.
Residents can use the resource to get retrofitting grant information
To help its local residents find out more about the options that are available, the Council has created a dedicated webpage for retrofitting information.
The aim of the webpage is to provide a resource for residents who are interested in retrofitting to get signposted to a range of grants, guides, and useful information to get started on their retrofit journey.
Residents can find out more about the Home Upgrade Grant, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and Energy Company Obligation fund, which range from funding for people on low incomes and living in hard-to-heat homes, as well as general grants for homeowners.
In addition, the webpage also includes links to further information and support from local organisations including Better Housing Better Health, Local Carbon Hub, Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, and more.
Councillor Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, highlighted that Oxford City Council hopes that this resource will provide confidence for local people: “We know that buildings are the biggest source of carbon emissions in Oxford, and with the amount of information that is available, it can be quite daunting when you first look at retrofitting your home.
“That is why we have launched this new resource to provide a guide for people who are interested in retrofitting. We hope that this guide will be a useful resource as they start their journey.”
Oxford City Council is aiming to have no fossil fuels by 2040
As Oxford has the ambition to become a net zero carbon city by 2040, ten years ahead of the UK Government deadline, the council is already working to take action to reduce carbon emissions from its own buildings and to become a Zero Carbon Council by 2030.
To achieve this, the council is installing heat pumps at four council-run leisure centers and is also building low-carbon homes through its housing company OX Place.
Its draft local plan has proposed bringing forward the requirements for all new homes and businesses in Oxford to be zero carbon to the adoption of the Local Plan 2040, likely in 2025.
The draft local plan also requires no fossil fuels to be directly used in the operation of new housing or commercial developments by 2040.
Seeing more councils provide its local residents with resources and information like this on retrofitting will be essential in decarbonising our existing buildings. This will be vital in reaching our net zero targets and creating more sustainable and thriving communities.
