Oxford City Council is letting seven new council homes with the completion of a development in Edgecombe Road in Barton.

The new homes include one four-bed, two three-bed and four two-bed houses. They have been built on the former site of the Royal British Legion Club, which was demolished in September 2020 after lying derelict for more than four years.

A poppy motif has been incorporated into the brickwork to commemorate the site’s heritage.

Oxford City Housing Ltd (OCHL) has handed over the new homes to the council, which is allocating them to families on the waiting list.

The development has been supported with £340,000 in funding from the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal.

With enhanced building fabric and air tightness standards, plus solar panels, the new homes go 56 per cent beyond carbon reduction requirements in current building regulations.

The development includes two covered areas for storing up to 17 bicycles. Bird boxes have also been installed for swifts.

Two of the two-bed houses, one of the three-bed houses and the four-bed house will be let at social rent, which will be £528, £609 and £656 a month respectively.

Two two-bed houses and the other three-bed house will be let at affordable rents of £910 and £1,097 a month.

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

Affordable rent – also known as intermediate rent – is set at up to 80 per cent of an equivalent private rent, including service charges.

This is the definition used by central government for affordable housing.

According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2020/21 median monthly private rents in Oxford were £1,250 for two-bed and £1,450 for three-bed homes. The median monthly rent for homes with four or more bedrooms was £2,200.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery, said: “OCHL is committed to delivering high quality, sustainable and affordable homes – the right homes for Oxford – and Edgecombe Road is no exception. Housing takes up the biggest proportion of my casework as a ward councillor and I’m acutely aware how badly needed each new council home is.

“The affordability crisis in Oxford means that each new council home is literally life-changing. OCHL has delivered, and now it’s the council’s turn to make sure these new homes go to the families that need them most.”