New highways contracts will focus on value, apprenticeships and carbon reductions

Norfolk County Council has kicked off discussions with potential bidders about its long-term highway maintenance contracts, focusing on value for money for Norfolk taxpayers, apprenticeships for local youngsters and reducing the carbon footprint from highway maintenance. 

The council is consulting major contractors about potential twelve-year contracts for highway maintenance and associated professional services and for traffic signal maintenance. 

Councillor Graham Plant, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said: "These are amongst our most significant contracts and I want to make sure that highway schemes minimise disruption to road users and that we get the maximum benefit from the Norfolk pound. As well as offering great value for money, bidders will need to offer apprenticeships and show us how they will reduce the carbon footprint from maintaining our roads." 

The council plans to invite tenders later this year for the new contracts, which take effect from April 2026. 

Councillor Fabian Eagle, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, added: "I want to maximise the number of Norfolk jobs from these contracts and make sure that local sub-contractors are given the best possible opportunity to win work, and that the main contractors keep a substantial presence in Norfolk. We aim to be a great council to do business with, and I encourage main contractors with the right track record to meet our highways team and help shape the requirement." 

The council says that, as now, it expects the contracts to be used mainly for highway maintenance and highway schemes, but it will have the option under the contracts to buy other civil engineering work such as recycling centre construction and flood defences.