Nottinghamshire Country Council has partnered with Cornwall Council to provide highways and fleet management services in Nottinghamshire.

A new company, named Via, will be launched on May 10.  Operations will start in July, under a 10-year contract - extendable for a further five years. The launch event will be held at Nottinghamshire County Council’s highways depot in Bilsthorpe.

Councillor Alan Rhodes, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “As far as residents are concerned, the new company will continue to provide an excellent service in terms of the way work is carried out on Nottinghamshire roads and they should continue to contact the County Council direct with highways issues.

“Via provides us with an opportunity to safeguard the continued delivery of a quality highways service for Nottinghamshire well into the future.

“It will help us to ensure continued improvement against a backdrop of ever-increasing demand on our services.”

The new company will be owned by the public sector and will also be able to trade commercially to gain work of up to 20% of its turnover.

Adam Paynter, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for both Cornwall Council and Nottinghamshire County Council and is a reciprocal relationship which will see both authorities learning from each other and sharing knowledge and experience.

“Not only will the launch of the new company create new jobs in both Cornwall and Nottinghamshire, it will also bring additional revenue back into both councils.”