Balfour Beatty secures £297m East Sussex highways and infrastructure contract

Balfour Beatty Living Places has been awarded a seven-year, £297m contract by East Sussex County Council for the maintenance of highways assets and delivery of infrastructure services across the county.

There is an option to extend the contract by a further seven years based on the successful delivery of the initial seven-year term, worth up to a total value of £730m.  

Balfour Beatty Living Places will work alongside East Sussex County Council to maintain the county’s highway network and infrastructure, including roads, pavements, drainage, streetlights, traffic lights and bridges.

In addition, the company will also provide winter gritting services and deliver highway improvement schemes.

The contract is scheduled to commence in spring 2023.

Building on the success of its ‘Operational Control Hub’ in Herefordshire and Southampton, the company will establish a new facility in East Sussex, using the latest in innovative technologies and systems designed in-house to provide a single source of visibility to monitor all activities in real-time, track progress of works and enable data-driven decision making to drive efficiencies across the network.

Steve Helliwell, managing director of Balfour Beatty Living Places, said: “This latest award builds on our longstanding expertise and commitment to providing best-in-class highways and infrastructure maintenance services across the UK.

“Our dedicated team of professionals will seek to introduce new technologies and innovative solutions wherever we can, helping us to create great places to work, live and play, whilst also leaving behind a lasting positive legacy for the communities in East Sussex."

Councillor Claire Dowling, the county council’s lead member for transport and environment said: “It is vital for our residents and our economy that our road network is well-maintained, and work carried out is of the right quality.

“This new contract has undergone extensive scrutiny to ensure it reflects the feedback we receive on our highways work and that it builds on the successes of the current contract and is fit for purpose for our residents and communities.

“As well as demonstrating that this could be achieved, Balfour Beatty Living Places also showed how its activities would align with our ongoing efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and how its actions would benefit the communities of East Sussex through its social value plan, including training, apprenticeships and community projects and events.”

As part of its commitment to The 5% Club, the company expects the number of people in earn and learn positions will increase to 10% during the contract term through its partnership with the Youth Employability Service East Sussex.