The seven-year contract, starting on May 1, will replace the existing arrangement with Kier, which was responsible for highways, Colas, street lighting and Siemens maintaining traffic signals.

The joint venture, which mirrors the successful A-one+ partnership without Colas in this case, will be responsible for maintaining the East Sussex highways network, including roads, pavements, drainage, street lights, traffic lights and structures.

It will also be tasked with providing winter gritting across the county and delivering highway improvement schemes.

The new deal includes a fixed price for routine maintenance activities such as grass cutting and gritting for the life of the contract, giving the council greater certainty over the cost of highway services for the next seven years.

A new county council management structure will be put in place, while the contract includes a number of incentives and penalties to ensure the best possible service is provided to the public.

Meanwhile, highways stewards, who are responsible for inspecting the county’s roads, will be given more powers to fix minor road defects themselves, allowing the work to be carried out more quickly and efficiently.