Redditch Borough Council has used a local supplier to procure 60 new vehicles to support its housing property services.
The £1.9m fleet replacement contract was awarded to Redditch-based Startin Group and will see the vehicles delivered this month. They will be used by plumbers, electricians, and other council staff to complete works on more than 5,500 properties.
According to the council, the change minimise disruption caused by its current vehicles, some of which are over a decade old and are due to be replaced by the new vans.
While half of vehicles will begin operating this year, the remainder will be arriving in 2027, with the aim of supporting ‘long-term reliability and value for money’.
Cllr Bill Hartnett, Redditch BC’s portfolio holder for housing, said that the move will enable the council’s housing property services teams to support customers more effectively.
Cllr Hartnett said: ‘This investment supports our wider commitment to continually improving services for our tenants, and we’re delighted to have been able to use a local business for what we need.’
He added: ‘Redditch Borough Council always prefers to shop local, but this gives a new meaning to local. Being local can actually help you win council business, because it can count for you in the official procurement processes.’
Referencing Startin Group’s new Fleet Hub in Redditch, Lee O’Connell, Startin Group’s head of group fleet, reportedly said: ‘Supplying Redditch Council is exactly the kind of work the new Startin Fleet Hub and compound was built for.’
‘Public sector fleets need dependable delivery, clear communication and vehicles prepared to a consistent standard. This facility gives us the control and capacity to do that properly’, he said.
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