New partnership is designed to further improve Buckinghamshire’s highways

The newly formed ‘Buckinghamshire Highways’ is an alliance between Buckinghamshire Council and two highly experienced and industry-leading organisations - Balfour Beatty Living Places and Atkins, as well as a number of specialist framework contractors.

Covering all elements of highways maintenance and repair, including pothole repairs, gully cleansing, street lighting, winter gritting and resurfacing works, as well as larger improvement and development programmes, the new arrangements allow the council to take back greater control and increase accountability in effectively maintaining the county’s network of almost 2,100 miles of highways and 1,500 miles of footways. Buckinghamshire Highways replaces Transport for Buckinghamshire, which for the previous 13 years managed highways in the county.

The three main partners marked the start of their alliance at a brand-new operational hub at the Griffin Lane depot in Aylesbury. The hub uses the latest technology and has eight 55” screens to monitor activities as they happen, track the progress of works on roads and footways and identify where further efficiencies can be made. It allows operational teams to prioritise work based on the location of vehicles and operatives and intervene where required to keep outstanding work on track or where reports from the public mean urgent action is needed.

Steven Broadbent, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Over a number of months we’ve been working on ensuring a smooth transition to Buckinghamshire Highways. We looked at what wasn’t working so well and have created an organisation that can better respond to the needs of everyone using the highways. I’m pleased that all partners in our new alliance share our commitment to giving residents the best value for money, to innovation and to finding better ways of doing things and share the council’s determination to reduce carbon emissions in their work.”

Balfour Beatty Living Places is the alliance’s new maintenance contractor and a leading provider of highways maintenance, street lighting and services for local authorities across the UK. Its crews are working out of four depots across the county to keep the highways moving and fix problems.

Steve Helliwell, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty Living Places, said: “Collaborative partnerships are essential in delivering best-in-class services for our customers, and for the communities we serve.

“We are delighted to be working closely with Buckinghamshire Council as we work hard to leave a lasting positive legacy across the county; improving services, reducing our environmental impact, engaging with local supply chain partners and creating local employment opportunities.”

Atkins is the alliance’s new consultancy provider and will be delivering planning, design, engineering and project management services for Buckinghamshire Highways. They will bring their extensive experience working with local authorities and in using data and technology to support the improvement of the highways network in Buckinghamshire.

Mike Batheram, Market Director at Atkins, said: “We are excited to be part of Buckinghamshire Highways alongside the council and Balfour Beatty Living Places and look forward to working collaboratively to improve highway services in Buckinghamshire and helping shape the future of transport in the region. We are committed to delivering improved ways of working, including the introduction of new digital approaches and greater customer focus for the benefit of local residents and businesses in Buckinghamshire.”

Buckinghamshire Highways will continue the multi-million-pound investment pledged by Buckinghamshire Council towards improving the county’s roads. Earlier this year the council announced a further £5m investment alongside the £100m over 4 years it has already set aside to deal with the worst affected areas. This extra investment follows on from the impact of recent weather, where the combination of freezing temperatures, followed by long periods of heavy rainfall, have worsened conditions on even more of the county’s roads.

Problems on the roads and footways of Buckinghamshire should continue to be reported using Fix My Street.

One.network continues to be the way to check for roadworks near a location, find out who is carrying them out and when they should be finished.