Wiltshire names suppliers for £18m specialist highways framework

Wiltshire Council has selected contractors for a specialist highways framework covering nine areas of work, with an estimated maximum value of £18m including VAT.

From road retexturing and crack sealing to bridge repairs and traffic surveys, Wiltshire’s new framework is designed for work requiring more specialist provision than conventional resurfacing and patching.

The council has named suppliers across nine lots, creating a route through which individual packages can be commissioned on an “as instructed” basis.

In brief:

• Wiltshire Council has selected suppliers for a specialist highways works framework worth up to £18m including VAT.
• The framework covers nine areas, including surface treatments, carriageway recycling, minor civil engineering and materials testing.
• The initial term is expected to run until August 2029, with potential extensions to August 2031.

Wiltshire specialist highways framework covers nine areas of work

The framework is expected to begin on 1 October 2026 and run initially until 31 August 2029. If all available extensions are used, it could remain in place for a further two years.

Its estimated maximum value is £15m excluding VAT, or £18m including VAT. That figure represents the potential value of work available through the framework rather than guaranteed spending or confirmed turnover for the appointed contractors.

Suppliers named across the framework include Ferns Surfacing, Kiely Bros, Colas, Luddon Construction, WJ South West, Miles Macadam, Stabilised Pavements, Thermal Road Repairs and Alun Griffiths, alongside a wider group of specialist contractors and testing businesses.

The nine lots cover:

• Road retexturing
• Grouted macadam treatments
• In-situ recycling of carriageways and footways
• Specialist surface treatments
• Laboratory and site testing of materials
• Minor civil engineering and other works
• Asphalt preservation and rejuvenation
• Crack-sealing repairs
• Traffic-data collection

The range is significant because it extends beyond one type of maintenance intervention. Some lots concentrate on preserving existing carriageways, including retexturing, asphalt rejuvenation and crack sealing. Others provide access to civil engineering, testing and survey capabilities needed to support the council’s wider highways service.

The minor civil engineering lot includes specific highways tasks and smaller construction projects, including bridge repairs and maintenance. Meanwhile, the traffic-data lot covers manual, automated and video surveys across carriageways, footways, footpaths, bridleways and byways.

Wiltshire Council said the framework will give it access to multiple suppliers capable of undertaking specialist highways works when instructed. Individual packages will still need to be scoped and commissioned, so securing a place does not guarantee a contractor a particular volume of work.

That distinction matters across large public-sector frameworks. They establish an approved route to market and allow authorities to call on selected suppliers without conducting an entirely new procurement for every requirement. They do not, by themselves, represent the award of every project that could pass through them.

The framework nevertheless provides an indication of the specialist capabilities Wiltshire expects to require over the coming years. Road condition cannot always be managed through conventional resurfacing alone. Retexturing can restore skid resistance, preservation treatments can slow deterioration, and in-situ recycling can reuse existing construction materials when rebuilding a failed pavement.

This type of advance procurement also gives the council a defined route for work that may require specialist equipment, testing or technical expertise. That can be particularly useful where a package does not sit naturally within a larger maintenance programme.

The arrangement reflects the wider role frameworks now play in highways delivery. As explored in our recent coverage of procurement across the roads market, much of the work eventually seen on the network begins with commercial decisions made well before traffic management or construction teams reach the road.

For Wiltshire, the immediate development is not one flagship project but the creation of a supplier pool spanning nine distinct areas of highways activity. Its importance will ultimately depend on the packages commissioned through it and how effectively those suppliers turn an approved procurement route into work on the network.