Atkins and Waterman to deliver highways services in West Midlands

Atkins has been appointed as the sole Tier 1 supplier to the West Midlands Highway Alliance (WMHA) framework.

The company will work in a strategic partnership with Waterman to deliver a broad range of municipal, highways and engineering consultancy services across the region.

Starting on 1 June 2013, the framework agreement is led by Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, but could be accessed by any of the other 10 West Midlands local authorities who are members of the Alliance together with Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive.

Jason Pavey, Atkins’ framework director, said: “This framework is a key win for Atkins’ highways and transportation business as the scope covers just about every consultancy service we offer – from transport planning, engineering design, asset management to site supervision. The scale and duration of the arrangements gives us the confidence to continue to develop and invest in the region and build long-term strategic relationships with the WMHA.”

A key strength of the partnership between Atkins and Waterman was its track record, capacity and capability in delivering similar consultancy contracts across the UK local authority sector.

Nick Taylor, chief executive of Waterman Group, added: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with members of the WMHA to achieve their objectives. We previously announced our strategy for increasing our involvement in public sector frameworks and this latest appointment adds to our success to date.  We look forward to working with Atkins in the Strategic Partnership.”