A contract worth £150m, to maintain Wiltshire’s highways and street services, has been awarded to Balfour Beatty Living Places.

At the same time, the Government has said it will give Wiltshire Council £3.6m extra towards road maintenance.

The five-year deal, put on record at Tuesday’s Wiltshire Council cabinet meeting, will see the firm taking on highway maintenance, grass cutting, litter collections, winter gritting, flood alleviation and bridge repairs.

All staff who carry out these services will be transferred over, so no job cuts are expected.

Dick Tonge, the cabinet member for highways, said: “This contract reflects the significant role our local communities play in recommending highway improvements in their own areas.”

Balfour Beatty previously oversaw street lighting for the council, while Ringway took care of highways and English Landscapes carried out streetscene works.

Councillors had to consider five submissions.

The Government has announced that Wiltshire will get £3.6m in extra funding for highway maintenance.

This will be split over the next two years, to improve transport infrastructure across England.

Cllr Tonge said: “This is tremendous news for Wiltshire, as it immediately boosts the number of works we can achieve over the next two years, to improve our highways network and to counter the effects on the roads of events such as the recent severe flooding.”

Cabinet members also approved a scheme in which half its street lights in areas without safety concerns will go off between midnight to 5.30am, potentially saving the council £380,000 a year.

A new street lighting management system will give flexible control and any new installations will have LED or energy efficient specifications.