Herefordshire Council has appointed 18 suppliers to a new highways and public realm framework worth up to £100M over four years as it prepares to implement a new operating model for infrastructure delivery across the county.

The Highways and Public Realm Schemes Framework, which runs from June 2026 to June 2030, will support the delivery of highways, structures, surfacing, traffic signal and tree management projects alongside the council’s new Public Realm Contract, which came into force on 1 June 2026.

The framework forms part of what the authority describes as a “mixed economy model” for delivering highways and public realm services.

The procurement has attracted a mixture of national infrastructure contractors and regional specialist firms

While major national players such as Tarmac, Eurovia, Telent, VolkerLaser, M Group Highways and Octavius Infrastructure have secured positions on the framework, several local and regional SMEs have also been appointed.

Contracts were signed on 15 June and will remain in place until 14 June 2030.

Through eight specialist lots, the council has created a procurement vehicle that allows work to be awarded either through direct allocation or through further competition between appointed contractors.

According to the contract notice, the framework has an estimated maximum value of £100M excluding VAT, although the council noted that there is no guarantee on the level of spend within individual lots and that expenditure allocations may change throughout the framework’s lifetime.

The largest share of the programme has been allocated to road surfacing works. Lot 3, covering surfacing schemes of unlimited value, has been awarded exclusively to Tarmac Trading and carries a contract value of £55M. The package alone accounts for more than half of the framework’s total estimated value.

Surface dressing and thin surface treatment works are being delivered through a separate lot worth £12.5M. Eurovia Infrastructure has secured sole supplier status for that package, which covers surface dressing and other preventative maintenance treatments aimed at extending the life of existing carriageways.

General civil engineering works have been divided into two value bands.

Lot 1 covers projects with an estimated value of less than £500,000 and has been awarded to five contractors: Cambrensis Civil Engineering, M Group Highways, Octavius Infrastructure, Owen Pell and Velta Construction. The lot carries an estimated value of £7.5M.

Larger civil engineering projects valued between £500,000 and £3M fall under Lot 2, which has an estimated value of £10M. The successful contractors are Alun Griffiths Contractors, Fitzgerald Contractors, McPhillips (Wellington), Montel Civil Engineering and Octavius Infrastructure.

The framework also includes a dedicated structures lot covering bridge and structural improvement projects valued at up to £1M. Worth £10M over the framework period, Lot 5 has been awarded to Cambrensis Civil Engineering, McPhillips (Wellington), Owen Pell, Velta Construction and VolkerLaser.

Several suppliers have secured positions across multiple lots. Cambrensis Civil Engineering, Owen Pell, McPhillips and Velta Construction all feature in both the civils and structures categories, while Octavius Infrastructure has secured places in both general civils lots.

Alongside traditional civil engineering works, the framework includes specialist technology and asset management packages.

Lot 6, covering traffic signal improvement and maintenance works, has been awarded to Telent Technology Services. Valued at £2.5M, the contract covers the installation and maintenance of traffic lights and associated traffic monitoring equipment throughout the county.

The package is classified as both works and services, reflecting the ongoing maintenance responsibilities associated with intelligent transport systems and signal infrastructure.

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