Milestone Infrastructure, a part of M Group Services, will start its £80m, five-year highways maintenance contract with Wiltshire Council this Saturday (1 April), saying it will help make Wiltshire Council’s highways more resilient.
The Milestone Infrastructure team will be responsible for maintaining streetlights; cleaning and emptying gullies and drains; repairing potholes; gritting in winter; undertaking emergency maintenance; and maintaining carriageways, footways, bridges and verges.
The team will also employ the council’s 20 Parish Stewards, who work closely with Wiltshire’s town and parish councils to fix small highways issues in their communities.
The five-year contract has a focus on reducing carbon emissions and on social value. Both are essential elements of M Group Services’ environmental, social and governance targets.
Milestone’s dedicated Social Value and Communications Manager will work closely with the council to benefit the local economy and engage with disadvantaged groups, including people with special educational needs and disabilities and care leavers, who will be offered employment and training opportunities.
Jim Daughton, Operations Director at Milestone (pictured), said: “We are delighted to enter into this collaborative new relationship with Wiltshire Council. We’re looking forward to working with the local authority in the delivery of the new highway maintenance arrangements. “Focusing on our carbon and social value commitments will be a key driver for us as we jointly work towards the delivery of safer, greener highways.”
Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport (also pictured), said: “This new maintenance contract with Milestone Infrastructure represents a significant investment in our communities. It will help us to keep Wiltshire on the move, while also delivering on our key pledge to be a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.
“Highways maintenance is a key priority for us as a council, because we know how important it is for our residents and local businesses to travel safely and efficiently – be that walking, wheeling, cycling or driving – and we’ll be working closely with Milestone Infrastructure over the coming years to improve the very successful Parish Steward scheme, and invest in social value initiatives that work with and enhance our communities.”
The total value of the contract is £80m, with an option to extend the contract by another five years to 2032.
(Picture – Milestone)
