Construction work has been completed at a low-carbon OX Place development in Cutteslowe, Oxford.

Located off Harefields, Cannon Court is a single L-shaped three-storey block made up of nine one-bed and 17 two-bed flats.

Cannon Court includes 11 council homes let at social rent and three homes let at affordable rent. Oxford City Council is in the process of allocating these to people on its housing register.

The remaining 12 homes have all been sold for shared ownership and eight homeowners have already moved in.

All 26 flats have a balcony or outside terrace and access to secure cycle storage. The development also features a shared courtyard area and solar PV panels on the roof.

Cannon Court sits on a previously developed site most recently used as a car park and which used to be a parade and target practice ground for reservists and cadets.

The new homes were designed by Levitt Bernstein Architects and built by Feltham Construction on behalf of OX Place. The development was supported with £1,025,000 in funding from the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal.

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The new homes have enhanced building fabric and air tightness standards. The use of solar panels and joint work with the Low Carbon Hub mean that Cannon Court is OX Place’s most energy efficient development to date.

The council’s planning requirements were for new homes to go 40% beyond government carbon reduction targets. Cannon Court achieves an average 89% beyond government targets.

To promote biodiversity, Cannon Court also includes bee hotels and will soon feature hedgehog highways. Hedgehogs are known visitors to neighbouring homes in Harefields and the highways will allow free access between gardens.

Social rent is calculated with reference to the size and value of a home and average regional incomes. In Oxford, this is typically around 40% of equivalent private rents.

While the government has defined affordable rent as up to 80% of an equivalent private rent, the council's tenancy strategy bases it on local housing allowance (LHA) levels. For council tenants, affordable rent is around 60-65% of the rent a private tenant would pay.

Shared ownership is a low cost option for people to get onto the property ladder by buying a share in a home they couldn’t afford to buy outright.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery said: "Oxford is a place where housing is deeply unaffordable, whether that’s to buy or to rent. We put the highest priority on delivering new affordable housing schemes like Cannon Court for the people of Oxford, and OX Place are a vital part of our plans to do this."