Oxford City Council has unveiled plans to force all new buildings in the city to be zero carbon from 2025.
The authority’s draft Local Plan 2040, which was published for consultation on 10 November, includes a requirement for all new homes and businesses in Oxford to be zero carbon from the timetabled adoption date of the blueprint in 2025. This includes a requirement that no fossil fuels be directly used in the operation of new housing or commercial developments – for example, no gas for heating or cooking.
Under the authority’s existing local plan, new residential developments should be zero carbon from 2030, with interim emission-reduction targets that go beyond those set by the government.
The new policy is designed to deliver Oxford’s goal of becoming a net zero carbon city by 2040. The council aims to deliver nearly 10,000 new homes by the end of the 2030s.
