Council’s multi-million pound road contract

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE County Council has awarded a new £160m highways contract to Tarmac.

Under the deal the council will make savings of around £2.17m each year which will be reinvested into improving the condition of the county’s road network.

And 90 per cent of the work under the new contract will be carried out using the local workforce and suppliers - helping to boost the Nottinghamshire economy.

The modern, cost-based contract, which includes the out-sourcing of several areas of work, is for five years with the opportunity to extend by up to a further five years. It will enable the council to drive further efficiency savings from the delivery of its highway services.

Throughout the bidding process, which began last year, a key consideration for the council has been the reinvestment of funding for highway works in the local economy and for the successful bidder to commit to delivering 90 per cent of the wok through local employment and suppliers.

“I am delighted that we are able to announce this new highways contract with Tarmac,” said Coun Richard Jackson, chairman of the Council’s highways and transport committee.

“I am particularly pleased that under its terms 90 per cent of the work will be carried out using the local workforce and suppliers and that it will allow some £2m to be reinvested back into our highways network where it will be used to carry out much-needed maintenance work such as repairs to potholes.”

Paul Fleetham, managing director of Tarmac’s contracting business said: “Tarmac has a long established relationship with Nottinghamshire County Council and we understand what it takes to deliver a best value, high-quality highways service to the county.

“We look forward to continuing our work within the region to maintain an excellent road network for the people of Nottinghamshire and other road users.”

Many of the services included in the contract are those already largely or completely delivered by external contractors including resurfacing, surface dressing, earthworks, fencing and land reclamation.

Some highway services currently delivered in-house but for which delivery can be planned will also be included in the new contract. These services will require the TUPE transfer of some staff – around 25 in total – from the county council to the new contractor and include road markings and studs, street lighting column replacement and gully emptying.

Not included in the new contract are reactive highways services including pot hole and drainage repairs, faulty street lights, gritting and snow clearing, grass cutting and tree maintenance which will all continue to be delivered by the county council’s own workforce directly.

The council will also continue to use its own multi-skilled highways operations teams to deliver most of the highway improvements such as the recently completed A60 Forest Lane traffic signal junction.