Ringway officially began work in Wiltshire on 1st April, marking the start of the new Wiltshire Council highways contract. Worth £15M per year, Ringway is responsible for the maintenance of roads, street lights and pavements, clearing drains, gritting roads and emergency repairs. The contract will run for five years, with a possible extension of a further two years.

In addition to the above, one of the key features of the contract is the rollout of the parish steward programme where 20 parish stewards will work with communities to carry out local minor highways work. This includes 20 new vans which will be rolled out over the next six months across Wiltshire.

The stewards will serve their own group of parish and town councils in the county, reporting issues and carrying out repairs and maintenance, providing a 'one stop and done' service. They will prioritise the needs of their patch including roads, pathways, drainage and verge maintenance. Their remit could include painting railings, highways strimming and minor pothole repairs.

Scott Wardrop from Ringway said: "Ringway is delighted to have been successful in re-securing the Wiltshire plus the Swindon highways contract for the next five to seven years. Our re-invigoration of the parish steward service for Wiltshire, which was a key aspect to our successful tender bid, has already begun and we look forward to an official launch of the new service in late summer 2016.

"We are working with the council to review the highway service, ensuring it is efficient and effective for the highway users while affordable. We have secured a new main office and depot in Bowerhill, Melksham and this means we have a good modern central facility for the highway service in Wiltshire, which supports team working."

Ringway previously held the highway maintenance contract with Wiltshire Council between 1999 and 2006 and successfully retendered in 2006 for another seven years ending in 2013. During this time strong relationships were forged between client and contractor as well as local suppliers and sub-contractors which will greatly assist Ringway in delivering a high quality, cost effective service.

Philip Whitehead, cabinet member responsible for highways said "Wiltshire Council and Ringway have a historic successful relationship for working in partnership. With the new contract, we will build on this relationship and I am confident that we will see many improvements over the coming years.

"Wiltshire is one of only a few councils that has increased its spending on highway maintenance. With the increased investment and this new contract the council will be best placed to meet the future challenges and able to maximise the benefits of its resources for our highways."

The highway services are being implemented in phases over the next six months to ensure by October all activities are provided. Ringway is also reviewing the current operations to ensure innovation and efficiencies are delivered at the earliest opportunity.

Visit www.ringway.co.uk for more information.