Oxford City Housing Ltd (OCHL) is set to let 14 new homes for social rent at Barton Park.

The homes are being offered as construction of the latest phase of the development – known as Steeples – gathers pace.

Developer Redrow is expected to hand them over to Oxford City Council’s housing company on 8 December.

They consist of two-four bed houses and a single block of six three-bed flats in Barton Fields Road and six three-bed houses in Stevenson Crescent.

Three and four-bedroom homes on Stevenson Crescent have been on sale for £545,000 with a number of the larger homes being named after Oxfordshire landmarks such as ‘The Ashmolean’ and ‘The Blenheim’.

Social rent is calculated with reference to the size and value of a home and average regional incomes, plus any service charges for communal facilities. In Oxford, this is typically around 40 per cent of equivalent private rents.

Although OCHL will own the new homes, management will be handled by the council’s tenancy management team, which will let them to applicants on the housing register.

Enhanced building fabric and air tightness standards, together with the use of solar panels, mean that the new homes have been designed to be very energy efficient.

When completed Barton Park will have 885 tenure-blind new homes and 354 of these (40 per cent) will be let at social rent by OCHL – including 83 of the 207 homes at Steeples.

The first phase of Barton Park – known as Mosaics – is now complete, with 237 new homes built by Hill.

All 95 OCHL homes on Mosaics have now been let to people on the council housing register.

The new community enjoys the use of a sports pavilion, sports pitch and linear park, and Barton Park Primary School opened in 2020 for families on the development and in neighbouring Barton.

A five-bed house in the Mosaics phase of the development prompted outrage on Twitter when it went on sale at £1.1million in 2020.

Residents said the price was ‘staggering’ and questioned who the perfect buyer of the Barton Park home would be.

This summer, Countryside Housebuilding West was appointed to deliver the final phase of construction. This will involve building retail space and 441 new homes, of which 176 will be OCHL homes.

Countryside expects to submit a reserved matters application by the end of the year.

Barton Park is being delivered by Barton Oxford LLP, a joint venture between the council and developer Grosvenor Britain & Ireland.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery, said: “All OCHL homes at Barton Park will be let at genuinely affordable social rent and this will a make a vital contribution to improving opportunities for people and tackling systemic inequality in our city.

"The council will let OCHL’s new homes to people on our waiting list and I look forward to seeing tenants moving in soon.”

Helen Horne, managing director of OCHL, said: “OCHL are very pleased to be taking possession of the first Redrow-built homes to add to our portfolio. Working with Hill and Redrow at Barton Park, we have been able to offer the residents of Oxford a variety of architectural styles while still providing the best quality and improving the standard in terms of carbon reduction.”

Sarah Boyce, sales director for Redrow Thames Valley, said: “We are delighted to be handing over 14 properties to Oxford City Housing Ltd to be let through social rent.

“We’re pleased to be supporting the local council in ensuring everyone living in the area has access to affordable rent, and hope that the addition of these houses will make a much-needed contribution towards bridging the gap of inequality within the city.

“Here at Redrow, we strive to build more than just houses. The establishment of thriving communities is at the heart of what we do, which is why we have also facilitated the creation of a community sports pavilion, primary school and sports pitches for all local residents to enjoy. We are looking forward to welcoming the new tenants to Barton Park very soon.”