Balfour Beatty Living Places secures £54m contract extension

Balfour Beatty Living Places has been awarded a £54m, two-year extension to its Herefordshire Public Realm contract by Herefordshire County Council.

This latest contract extension will see the collaborative partnership run to autumn 2026, following a history of good performance, effective asset management and delivering value for money since Balfour Beatty first partnered with the council in 2013.

Balfour Beatty Living Places will work alongside Herefordshire County Council to maintain the county’s 3,250km of roads and deliver services including street lighting and street cleaning as well as the maintenance of parks and open spaces. 

The company will continue to implement innovative technologies and solutions such as artificial intelligence to further enhance its Operational Control Hub, allowing operational teams to automate the monitoring of the road network across the county, and capture data in real time to prioritise repairs and maintenance works. 

Since the hub was installed in 2021, 94% of 41,544 reactive jobs were completed on time, 100% of 1,901 emergency responses were completed to schedule and 61% of all reactive works were delivered ahead of schedule.

Last year, Balfour Beatty Living Places also introduced a digital route optimisation tool to drive efficiencies in emptying bins across the county. 

The tool automatically identifies the fastest and most direct routes and has resulted in a productivity saving of 15 hours per week and approximately 1,068 kilograms of carbon emissions per year by reducing the amount of time that maintenance vehicles are travelling on the local road network. 

In addition, as part of its commitment to leaving a lasting, positive legacy in the communities in which it operates, Balfour Beatty Living Places will build on the 578 volunteering hours delivered in 2023 to date, with employees continuing to support local charities and community projects throughout the duration of the contract.

Steve Helliwell, managing director of Balfour Beatty Living Places said: “This latest contract extension is testament to the strength of our unique and collaborative relationship with Herefordshire County Council and our significant expertise and experience in delivering public realm works.

“We look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship over the next two years, as we work hard to provide an effective, efficient, sustainable and customer focused service for the county.”

Balfour Beatty Living Places will continue to employ 150 throughout the duration of the contract including 15 apprenticeship and graduate positions.