More roads will be fixed, and customer service will be improved over the next five years, as a contract between Staffordshire County Council and Amey looks set to be renewed.
The county council is pushing forward with its new vision for Staffordshire’s roads—to deliver an excellent customer experience and improve the quality of highways—which will be achieved through significant additional investment by the County Council, changing the way services are delivered and renewing its existing maintenance partnership with Amey.
The proposed future partnership between Staffordshire County Council and Amey will make this new vision a reality by working together in new, innovative ways, and by talking to people and communities across the county. This will help to make sure residents and businesses are getting the best value, quality, and customer service.
Enhanced annual performance arrangements will ensure targets are met, including those for customer service, enabling the county council to change how some services are delivered if needed.
Staffordshire’s huge local highway network is valued at over £7 billion. In 2014, the county council entered a long-term strategic partnership with Amey for the delivery of infrastructure services.
This includes road repairs, cycle routes, bridges, tunnels, lighting, drainage, traffic signals, trees and land as well as filling potholes.
Already, the county council has invested an extra £15.5 million into road maintenance over the next year, on top of its £50 million total investment in Staffordshire’s highways.
David Williams, Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport said:
“Our ground-breaking partnership with Amey is ten years old at the end of September 2024, and this is a timely opportunity to review how we work in future, and how everything we do supports our vision and ambition for the highway service.
“We are aware of public perceptions around highways, which is why believe through this potential new arrangement we can make positive changes whilst maintaining flexibility if we feel the performance isn’t where it should be. We are confident we have the right partner in Amey; we believe that extending our partnership for an initial 5-year period will ensure that the service continues to have valuable resilience, and that we have the flexibility to look at services to ensure they continually meet our goals.
“It is essential that we transform our highways deliver offer to ensure that the improvements we make are continuous, and that we are offering the best possible customer service, quality and value for money for our residents and businesses.”
Richard Harris, Account Director for Amey in Staffordshire, added:
“Over the past eight years, Amey and the Council have worked together to continually develop and improve the highways service for the people and communities of Staffordshire. A high-quality highways service is critical to improving lives – enabling people to work and enjoy life – and has a significant impact on environmental and economic prosperity.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue building our partnership until 2029, investing in innovative solutions which will transform journeys through consistent service delivery, improved customer service and carbon reduction to support the Council to achieve their ambitious vision for the future.”
3 comments
John Wilson
S.C.C. have clearly not been listening to the council tax payers who pay there wages. I have never heard ANYONE say a good thing about Amey. I have black and white proof that they are layers. I have watched them repair on pot hole and leave the one next to it uncovered. I gave witnessed 6 of their workers take 1 and a half hours to mend ax2ft sq pothole. I have even (I kid you not) watch them repair half a pit hole because that’s was where the sprayed white marker stopped. I cannot believe what I am reading and as a Council tax payer I am furious.
Tim Brotherhood
If won’t be difficult to improve on the condition of roads sbd provision for active travel in Staffordshire. Roads are in a terrible condition and cycle routes are poorly planned or unusable due to lack of maintenance or cars parked over them. I reported a pothole on the island outside Stafford Station. It is over a metre long up to 10cm deep and wider than a cycle tyre. It is on the line a cyclist would need to take and the Council/Amey assessed it as “not dangerous”. The local MP was no help and an offer of joining me on a bike round Stafford fell on deaf ears so I’m not holding my breath…
JOHN WILSON
There won’t be ANY improvement! Amey are the existing useless contractor anyway. Same old same old.