Cabinet members have agreed to waive the usual rules for awarding contracts to allow Galvmac, an innovative road repair company based in Gateshead to deliver pothole repairs across Lancashire.
The decision was taken to ensure the Galvmac technology can be used by Lancashire County Council ahead of the wet and cold months until a permanent agreement can be put in place.
Cabinet member for highways and transport, Rupert Swarbrick said, “It’s very good value for money – it’s done the job that we asked it do over the summer to catch up and we’re at that point where we need to secure a supply, enabling us to be as efficient and save as much money as we did during the trial period.”
Galvmac has been working on a trial basis with Lancashire County Council over the summer to help them with their backlog of pothole repairs after being labelled the worst shire in the country for potholes back in August.
The technique, which involves the use of recycled tyres, was deployed following a wetter-than-usual winter which the authority blamed for a huge increase in highway defects.
In their report to the cabinet, Lancashire County Council stated there were currently “no alternative contractors” to Galvmac with the ability to deliver the repairs at the scale and speed required before another harsh winter.
This is another success story for Galvmac, which only started trading in May 2024. Founded by local road, civils, and finance professionals Malcolm Johnstone, Mark Galvin, and Barry Gill, the business has already secured work with Northumberland County Council, Port of Tyne, and PD ports.