Liverpool City Council has approved plans to award its parks and green spaces maintenance contract to Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited.

The council-owned company will take over the £6.8m contract in October 2018, and aims to save up to £7m a year by removing management fees and integrating management and supervisory functions.

Cllr Steve Munby, cabinet member for City Services, said: 'We’ve taken a long hard look at whether we should go out to tender on this, but believe that that the time and cost of doing so would wipe out any efficiency savings and not deliver anything better.

'Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited has already delivered efficiency savings in in refuse, recycling and street cleansing – and because it is owned by the council and not shareholders we are able to reinvest the cash and make our money go further, such as by clearing fly tipping or increasing street cleansing.'

Liverpool Street Scene Services Limited already operates the council's refuse, recycling and street cleansing services, and this contract has also been extended for another 10 years.