A NEW highways provider has been hired to carry out £245m worth of road maintenance in Gloucestershire.

The present contractors, Amey, have been dropped by Gloucestershire County Council (GCC).

GCC has appointed Ringway Infrastructure Services to deliver the highways maintenance contract for the county when Amey's five-year contract ends on April 1, 2019.

Pothole repairs, winter gritting and grass cutting will then be handled by Ringway.

The new £245million contract will mean Ringway could work on the county’s 3,300 miles of road up until 2030.

Last year, the council decided that after Amey’s five-year contract ends on April 1, 2019, the contract would be scrapped.

Ringway will cover:

Pothole repairs

Winter gritting and snow clearing

Gully cleaning

Verge and grass cutting

Surface dressing

Councillor Vernon Smith, cabinet member for highways at the council, said: “This is great news for the county.

"Throughout the process Ringway impressed on all fronts and I’m confident they will do a great job keeping our roads and verges maintained.

“They bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience in delivering services in our region and I look forward to working with them to continue our investment in really improving Gloucestershire’s roads.”

Liberal Democrat county councillor Klara Sudbury described Amey’s performance as the council’s highways contractor as “incredibly disappointing”.

Ms Sudbury (Charlton Park and College) said: “We welcome the appointment of a new contractor to sort out Gloucestershire’s roads.

“The experience with Amey has been incredibly disappointing, with repeated complaints over the quality of the work and potholes having to be filled over and over again.

“Our county, and the tax-paying public, deserves roads and pavements that we can use without worrying about broken suspension, flat tyres, or injury.

“Let’s hope this new contractor gets it right.”

Ringway managing director Mike Notman said: “Developing the right solution for the people of Gloucestershire was a real team effort.

"We are really looking forward to working collaboratively with the council, local suppliers and the community to improve the highway network.

“We are also 100 per cent committed to supporting the county’s wider targets for social, economic and environmental sustainability and are delighted to partner with the council to deliver these over the term of the contract.”

There is now a ten day ‘standstill’ period but, subject to no comments being received, the final award will be made on October 5.