Energy efficiency grants for private landlords

Private sector landlords in Oxford can now apply for funding to improve the energy efficiency of their properties and reduce fuel poverty, thanks to funding from The Ebico Trust, with Oxford City Council carrying out the improvement works.

The offer is open to privately rented properties within the city’s boundaries and will allow them to carry out improvements to their properties such as:

  • Loft insulation
  • Thermostatic Radiator Valves and pipe insulation
  • Draught proofing,

Following changes in legislation that came into force in April 2016, it is now a legal requirement for private residential landlords to consent to a tenant’s reasonable request for energy efficiency improvements where finance is available. From 2018, it will be unlawful to rent out a property that does not reach a minimum energy efficiency standard.

Funded by The Ebico Trust, the Private Rented Energy Efficiency Grant (PREEG) is available on the provision of certain documentation (see web link below for more details).

 

To register your interest for grants of up to £1,500 per property for up to five of your properties, landlords should go to www.oxford.gov.uk/preeg or email

PREEG@oxford.gov.uk.

Successful applicants will have their properties surveyed for free to determine which of the eligible works are feasible and can be included in the energy efficiency package.

Phil Levermore, Trustee of The Ebico Trust, said: “Ebico is dedicated to tackling the problem of fuel poverty, both locally and nationally. It’s clear to us that the key will be energy efficiency improvements in people’s homes. We’re pleased to be able to help Oxford’s private landlords rise to this challenge.”

 

Conditions

  • The property must continue to be available for letting two years from the date the City Council confirms the works are complete, otherwise the grant must be repaid in full.
  • Landlords are also required to make a 50 per cent contribution in full before the works can start.
  • The properties must be rated D, E, F or G in their Energy Performance Certificate

Air quality in Headington

Here is an update we have received from the City Council about air quality monitoring in Headington.

By way of background, we monitor air quality at 75 locations across the city.  This specifically looks at Nitrogen Dioxide.  In order to gain good coverage across the city we rotate monitoring locations on an annual basis. A number of sites are maintained year on year in order to gather long-term data. We prioritise sites where we see breaches of the air quality objectives, as it is important for us to understand where the worst air pollution is experienced in the city

In Windmill Road we had a number of monitoring points in 2015, the majority of which showed air pollution levels well under the annual objective of 40ug/m3.  One monitoring point, called Windmill Road W, showed air pollution above this objective and we have therefore continued monitoring at this site. The other monitoring sites in Windmill Road, due to their relatively low readings, were moved elsewhere during 2016.

Monitoring data for 2016 will become available in the next couple of months, following ratification and approval by DEFRA and will be available on the Oxfordshire Air Quality Website so you will be able to see what has been happening at Windmill Road over the past year.

Trees on the JR site

In following up a resident enquiry, we have made contact with the Facilities Manager at the OU Hospitals’ Trust who has kindly sent us the following update about trees on the JR site.

The two Poplars mentioned were felled on 14th Jan ’17 due to disease, one was rotten at the bottom and the other was rotten further up. Both were detailed to the council in our application and we will be imminently replacing these with lime trees.

The other tree mentioned was our precious Mulberry that unfortunately had major decay in the main stem and limbs so we had to pollard it quite severely so as to prolong its life and encourage it to grow further. This was completed on 21st Jan ’17.

The Trust does not have a tree management policy as such but I would like to assure you that we complete Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM). We contract professional services to conduct Tree Safety Surveys every 2 years and from this report we program in essential works that are required with our contracted professional tree surgeon; dependant on the available funding. As previously mentioned, any works within the conservation area will be detailed to the council for their review prior to commencement. Any trees that require felling do get replaced with suitable alternatives to continue to preserve our valued landscapes.

I do have other works to complete in the near future that I have briefly detailed below:

  • 2 x tall Poplars to fell due to visible cavities in the main stem.
  • 2 x tall Poplars to reduce to previous pruning point.
  • 1 x False Acacia to fell due to main stem decay caused by laetiporous.

 

Parking pressure in Headington

Residents in the Windmill Road / Gathorne Road area are feeling angry and frustrated about a recent appeal decision concerning parking zone eligibility.

There is rising concern in Central and New Headington that in cases where permission is being given for housing developments only on condition that they are car-free, applicants are paying the County Council to exclude their properties from the Controlled Parking Zone as conditioned in order to get development completed, but are later submitting requests to the County Council to include them in the CPZ.

The problem is that there is increasing pressure on parking space in central Headington and along the Headley Way/Windmill Road corridors, and this is partly caused by owners of properties renting out their private driveways to employees in the area and parking their own cars on-street.

The government is pressing for planning authorities to grant consent for infill, intensification in areas where there is pressure on building space, and for offices to change their use to residential accommodation. This means that increasingly consent is given on condition that properties are car-free.

This latest appeal ruling gives the go ahead for the owner of flats in an area which will already be hit by reductions in on-street parking space as part of the Access to Headington scheme to apply for CPZ inclusion, and was unexpected in that many objections were received from all quarters ahead of the decision being made.

County and City officers are currently reviewing the decision notice and Ruth has discussed issues that have arisen with the planning team leader.

At some point the following questions will need to be addressed:

  • should there be a limit on the number of parking permits allowed per household in Headington? (there are elsewhere in the City)
  • should there be an urgent review of Headington Controlled Parking Zones and how will this be prioritised in terms of funding?
  • should more applications be refused on grounds of harm arising from increasing parking pressure in the area? And would they fall on appeal?

We would welcome your views on this.

Burial fees for stillborns, babies and children

Ruth will propose a motion to Council on 6 February which asks if interment fees for stillborn babies and children can be waived.

Liberal Democrat member motion

Council is sympathetic to the suffering of families in Oxford who experience the loss of stillborn babies and children and wishes to support grieving parents as much as it can.

Council notes that the number of interments of stillborns, babies and children in Oxford during the financial year 2015/2016 was as follows:

  • Botley Cemetery – 7
  • Headington Cemetery –
  • 2 Wolvercote Cemetery – 6
  • Total – 15

Council further notes that the average number of such interments between 1998 and 2016 has been 18 per year, with a peak of 23 in financial year 2007/2008.

Income for fees and charges for 2015/16 interments of stillborns, babies and children in Oxford totalled £5,100.

Council notes the debate on baby loss in the House of Commons on 13 October 2016 and the excellent support given by Sands Stillborn and Neonatal death charity, and understands that some local authorities do not make a charge in these circumstances.

Council therefore requests the Chief Executive to investigate whether a mechanism for waiving fees charged by the Council for the burial of children or stillborns of Oxford residents might be introduced.

Reference

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-10-13/debates/721CDF48-A721-4408-AA94- BE694FA1E7FC/BabyLoss

Ruth comments, “One of the things we do as local councillors is to push for changes that will make a positive impact on the lives of people across the whole City. One of the ways to do this is to propose motions for debate in the Council Chamber. Here is the text of the speech to accompany it.”

The loss of a loved one is always very sad, but the loss of a much longed-for baby or infant must be almost unbearable. It is hard for us to comprehend how difficult it must be for grieving families to cope with this tragic circumstance at what should be a very happy time.

A baby that dies shortly after birth must by law be formally buried or cremated, although a funeral is not legally required.

It seems that a number of funeral directors in the Oxford area offer a simple funeral service free of charge in such cases, and some also make no charge for caskets.

Several local authorities have already introduced a waiver of fees in such circumstances, and others are considering this.

  • South Oxfordshire District Council makes no charge for burial or exclusive rights of burial for persons under 18 years at time of burial.
  • Southampton City Council makes no charge for interment to 4’6” for one baby or child in its cemeteries
  • The Forest of Dean District Council makes no charge for interments in earthen graves, including digging of the graves, for stillborns and children 12 years and under.
  • Wotton Town Council in Gloucestershire has removed fees for interments of under 5s, and halved its fees for children aged 5-12
  • Yate Council has waived interment fees for under 5s
  • Woking Borough Council is considering a motion on this issue later this week.

The figures supplied to me by an officer show that the income for 15 interments in Oxford City Council cemeteries during the financial year 2015/16 was £5,100.

I believe that Oxford City Council and all in this chamber would wish to do all it can to support grieving families at such an exhausting and upsetting time, and some families would find it hard to manage this additional financial burden.

This motion requests that the Chief Executive investigates whether it would be possible to introduce such a waiver at Oxford City Council cemeteries. The loss of this relatively small source of income would be offset by the compassion shown to grieving families by this Council on behalf of our wider community.

Rat alert!

 

Please get in touch with local councillors if you have information on rat movements in Horwood Close. We are working with Oxford City Council officers to address this, and are making sure all tenants are aware that bins must be presented properly and lidded when left outside on the street.

Update from Winvic on Beech House development

Here is the January newsletter from the Beech House site in Latimer Road.

Progress on site:

Concrete works to the basement is almost complete, unfortunately we have suffered a few delays in January due to the drop in temperature again. We have erected a protected walkway over the footpath, this will be in place for the duration of our main deliveries into site. The steel frame has been started today and should now progress quite quickly.

Work to be progressed over the next 4 weeks:

We shall be completing the concrete works to the basement and starting the foundations to the maisonette’s mid February. The steel frame will progress along with forming the floor slabs. We are also starting to erect the scaffold around the steel frame.