Objectives of the Building Team:
- To encourage the high quality retrofit of local community buildings and homes to become low energy and zero carbon.
- To engage with the planning system to maintain the town’s character while helping it thrive and achieve net zero emissions.
- To engage residents in understanding what a zero-carbon home might mean and how to make that happen
- To enthuse local builders in understanding how they can help make that happen.
- To engage local building trades and seek to facilitate training.
- To identify potential partners to plan and assist with mass retrofit.
Home Comforts Project launch
Open Homes Day
1st April 12 noon – 5pm starting at the Bowls Club
Charlbury householders will be opening the doors of retrofitted houses across the town to showcase energy and carbon saving measures.
The Home Comforts Open Homes event on Saturday 1st April 2023 is being hosted by Charlbury Bowls Club who will show the work that they are currently undertaking.
It will also offer an opportunity for residents to visit and speak directly to other homeowners who have already taken the eco plunge and can explain the benefits – and the pitfalls.
Helping to make Charlbury’s homes low-carbon, cheaper to run, warm in winter and cool in summer.
Why we are here: Helping to reduce the costs and carbon associated with heating our buildings
Rising energy bills are a worry for us all. Meeting the UK’s climate change targets needs action on all fronts. Improving our homes and community buildings can help to reduce costs and reduce carbon emissions:
- 60% of Oxfordshire’s homes have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of D or lower[i] meaning that they are very inefficient
- About a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from homes, the vast majority from heating and cooking[ii]
The Buildings Working Group is aiming for Charlbury’s buildings to be energy-efficient and heated and powered by entirely by low carbon technologies, and for new developments to have low embodied carbon. Progress needs to be made urgently.
We are aiming to rollout energy efficiency solutions in Charlbury’s existing buildings and new developments by 2030, along with the installation of low-carbon heating technologies. To achieve this, we need to engage with Charlbury builders who will play a key role in delivering buildings that are warm in winter, cool in summer, and cost less to run.
Our ambition is in line with various local and national net zero frameworks including Pathways to Zero Carbon Oxfordshire, OxLEP’s Oxfordshire Energy Strategy, and the government’s Net Zero Strategy.
What’s the group doing now?
- Creating Whole House Plans for ten house types in Charlbury, helping you identify what can be done in your home
- Giving advice on what financial incentives and support are available
- Working with local authorities to influence local planning policy and get support for our strategy
Engage with us
- Would you like to know more about how you can make your home or building more energy efficient?
- Have you already made your home more energy-efficient and climate friendly, and would like to share your experience?
- Are you a builder that wants to engage with the town council’s aims for better quality buildings?
Contact Lisa Wilkinson in the first instance on 07311 259412 or clerk@charlbury-tc.gov.uk
What financial help is available now?
For homeowners & residents
Available to everyone: Boiler upgrade scheme: £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump, £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler, £6,000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump Any homeowner or owner of a small-scale commercial property can apply for a grant towards the cost of replacing a traditional boiler with a low carbon alternative. Larger grants are available for lower income households
For some homeowners: Sustainable Warmth Grants: For homes connected to the mains gas grid, the grant available is up to £10,000, and for homes not connected to the mains gas grid, the grant available is up to £25,000. Available if your home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E, F or G (limited funding is available for EPC D-rated properties). Available if you have a total household annual income of £30,000 or less (before housing costs/bills) or you receive a means-tested benefit, subject to approval.
For homeowners in receipt of a means-tested benefit: West Oxfordshire’s Fuel Poverty Grant: A £1,000 grant is available to West Oxfordshire residents for measures to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Eligible homeowners must be in receipt of a means-tested benefit. Residents who think they may be eligible for the Fuel Poverty Grant should contact NEF on the free phone number 0800 107 0044 which is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays).
For social housing providers, and local authorities
Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: social housing providers including charities can apply for funding for social housing. This scheme is due to open in September 2022
What advice is available now?
Better Housing, Better Health:, a service supported by Oxfordshire County Council aiming to reduce the number of people in fuel poverty and provides access to impartial energy advice and free home energy visit
Cosy Homes Oxfordshire: a project set up with UK Government funding to provide homeowners and landlords advice on how to carry out energy-efficiency improvements to their homes.
[i] Pathways to a Zero Carbon Oxfordshire (Pazco) https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/downloads/PazCo-final.pdf
[ii] BEIS 2021 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Provisional Figures https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1064923/2021-provisional-emissions-statistics-report.pdf
[1] Pathways to a Zero Carbon Oxfordshire (Pazco) https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/downloads/PazCo-final.pdf