Cherwell District Council: A push for government grants for homes

It came as part of the latest update on the authority’s Climate Action Programme, which aims to make Cherwell carbon neutral by 2030.

A report showed the council's carbon emissions were 22.5 per cent lower in 2020-21 than the previous year, although a chunk of that was down to the enforced closure of leisure facilities during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Commenting on the report, Councillor Dan Sames (Con, Bicester South & Ambrosden) argued the council had made “good headway” and that a £6m grant to reduce carbon emissions from council buildings and leisure centres had “in one fell swoop eliminated 25 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions”.

The push towards the targets are also being helped by a Green Homes Grant targeting homes in fuel poverty but Councillor Sean Woodcock (Lab, Banbury Ruscote) said more needed to be done.

“It goes well beyond the Green Homes Grant mentioned by Councillor Sames,” he said.

“I would ask the leader to lobby the government on this and push for more investment in existing homes in order to meet the targets, we desperately need to.”

Cllr Sames agreed, adding: “We, of course, have a much greater ambition to try to get the existing housing within the district upgraded and to be emitting somewhat less.

Councillor Barry Wood (Con, Fringford & Heyfords) said: “I am happy to take the point you make about lobbying the centre.

“There is definitely merit in what you say and I am more than happy to take that up.”

Meanwhile, Councillor Ian Middleton (Green, Kidlington East) argued that the programme's overall progress had been too slow.

“I have to say it seems to be a bit thin on the ground,” he said.

“There is a lot of aspirational stuff, feasibility studies and consultations, but considering we have used up 25 per cent of the time we set ourselves when we set our climate emergency motion, I would have expected to see a lot more actual progress.

“There are some things in here that will be positive if they are seen through.”

Cllr Sames responded: “Yes, we have further work to do. We are not going to sit on our laurels but this is not something that can happen overnight, we have to work through it to deliver something that is feasible.”

The reports will be sent to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a panel that runs the rule over how the council goes about working towards its objectives.