Skip to main content

Private sector could reduce UK's road repairs cost

Private sector companies in the UK are preparing to aid local authorities deal with the effects of government spending cuts on roads. Mike Notman, outgoing chairman of the UK's top trade body for road maintenance, Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA), has warned that repairs and improvements to the nation's roads is an easy target for the coalition government, and claimed that private sector companies could reduce costs by as much as 15%.
May 14, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Private sector companies in the UK are preparing to aid local authorities deal with the effects of government spending cuts on roads.

Mike Notman, outgoing chairman of the UK's top trade body for road maintenance, 2479 Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA), has warned that repairs and improvements to the nation's roads is an easy target for the coalition government, and claimed that private sector companies could reduce costs by as much as 15%.

“Private sector companies undertake these services across the UK and therefore have much greater knowledge and experience of delivery,” he said.

Incoming chairman Philip Hoare has vowed to “develop stronger, productive and results-orientated outcomes across the sector” despite the pressures of government spending cuts.

He committed the organisation to further improving the quality of highways management and maintenance in a bid to reinforce the message that reliable and safe roads are paramount to the social and economic needs of the nation.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Concrete barriers help to minimise accidents
    July 12, 2012
    Concrete barriers offer a highway safety solution - Mike Woof writes. Concrete safety barriers are being installed on many of Europe's major highways, particularly for use as centre lane dividers. The strength and durability of concrete barriers can help reduce the risk of cross over accidents, one of several topics raised at a conference in Brussels on concrete highway barriers organised by the European Concrete Paving Association, EUPAVE. The conference was opened by Yves Deceoene of the IRF's Belgian ex
  • Balfour Beatty wins major UK road repair contracts
    February 3, 2016
    Balfour Beatty is now working on a seven year, €323.94 million (£245 million) highways maintenance contract in the UK. This package of works is for Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council. There is an option to extend the contract for a further three years. Balfour Beatty Living Places will work in partnership with the three Councils. This collaborative arrangement in the local authority highways market will provide a single source service provider acr
  • Tackling India’s road safety will reduce crash rate
    February 19, 2013
    India’s road safety record is the world’s worst but there are plans to tackle the problems. Patrick Smith reports from New Delhi. A speeded up video of a short section of road in the Indian capital Delhi was followed by a question. “How many infringements did you count in that 25-second clip on a typical day in Delhi,” asked Dr Rohit Baluja, a question that brought understandable silence. It equated to hundreds of millions of infringements each year, said Dr Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Educ
  • €14.47bn to fix England and Wales local road network, ALARM Survey claims
    April 3, 2014
    The 19th Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) Survey published today reports that the estimated cost to get England and Wales’ local road network back into reasonable condition has increased to €14.47 billion (£12 billion) from €12.06 billion (£10.5 billion) in 2013. For the second year in a row, more than two million potholes (2,010,749) were filled in England and Wales over the course of the previous year.