Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

New highway contract to deliver more locally.

The following emanated from the WC press office.

'The new highway contract, which started on June 1, is already helping communities develop their own priorities, and will save more than £1million in its first year.

It covers a wide range of services including; highways maintenance, grounds maintenance, street cleansing, grass cutting, street lighting, bridge maintenance, winter maintenance and public convenience cleaning. It is worth around £25million per year, and runs for five years with a possible extension of two years depending on performance.

Part of the contract with Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) which now provides the service, allows for community priorities to be identified and services changed to meet the local area needs.

The vast majority of services passed seamlessly from the previous providers to BBLP. However, there was a delay with some of the council’s grass cutting arrangements. The first of two rural verge cuts every year, is nearing completion and is on schedule. However, while the majority of urban grass cutting has been unaffected, some areas particularly in the south and west of the county have seen grass longer than the council and the residents would normally expect.

To ensure the disruption was limited, BBLP provided additional staff and equipment, worked extra hours, including weekends, and prioritised local community priority areas. All the council’s urban grass will receive at least one cut in June and thereafter the arrangements will run to the previous standards.

Phillip Whitehead, portfolio holder for highways and streetscene, said: 'The new contract is already bringing many improvements and efficiencies, which we are very pleased with. However, I recognise some grass cutting arrangements have been delayed, and I apologise for any concern caused by this. Balfour Beatty Living Places has given assurances services will return to normal this week.'

Balfour Beatty Living Places managing director, Amanda Fisher, said: 'We took over responsibility for grass cutting on June 1 following a period of transition from the previous contractors. We recognise the importance of maintaining regular grass cutting, particularly at this time of year, and have assigned a large team to work extended hours to reduce the backlog of work required. We expect to be back on schedule with the grass cutting programme by the end of this week.'

The council is responsible for approximately 5.5 million square metres of urban grass across the county, the equivalent of about 900 football pitches, and approximately 6,500 kilometres of rural highway verge.'

So, it would seem that BBLP can 'talk the talk' let's hope that they can also 'walk the walk'. Time will tell!