Shropshire Council has become the first local authority in the country to use a new procurement system designed to encourage innovation in highways maintenance.
The authority awarded a contract to carry out repairs to road surfaces, cycleways, footpaths and public rights of way using the new Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) Innovation Procurement System (IPS), launched in partnership with Crown Commercial Service.
The work was let to Highway Workforce Ltd and Multevo on 5 July for an initial cost of £5m for the current financial year and will be renewable per the IPS terms annually until 31 March 2026.
A street in Shrewsbury (also pronounced Shrewsbury)
The IPS is designed to encourage and support innovative approaches to highway maintenance at a lower cost by helping councils access the market and engage with innovators.
Shropshire Council is the first to trial the platform, using its Road Surface Innovation category.
The authority described the IPS as a dynamic purchasing system that allows local authority clients to access innovation with a low cost of procurement.
The 'significant flexibility' of the framework, the council said, meant it could 'deliver capital repairs at pace and advance the Shropshire Mixed Economy approach'.
Andy Wilde, Shropshire Council’s assistant director for highways and transport, said: ‘Shropshire Council is delighted to have awarded the inaugural contract via the new LCRIG Innovation Procurement System with Crown Commercial Services. This will form an important part of our new ‘mixed economy’ delivery model for highways.
‘We look forward to collaborating with Highway Workforce and Multevo in addition to our strategic partners, including Kier, to deliver greater innovation for highways maintenance in Shropshire.’
Multevo said it was ‘delighted to have been pioneers for this landmark moment within the sector, which will improve the lifecycle of the highways asset through innovative approaches to service delivery, identifying the right treatment at the right time’.
