Ealing Awards £33m Highway Condition Monitoring Framework to XAIS-PTS

Five-year agreement will support road and footway inspections across London, helping local authorities target maintenance investment through improved asset management.

The London Borough of Ealing has appointed XAIS-PTS to deliver road condition monitoring services under a £33 million framework designed to improve the management and maintenance of highway assets across the capital.

Awarded under Lot 2 of Ealing's Highways and Transport Services Framework, the contract commenced on 1 April 2026 and will run until 31 March 2030. The agreement is valued at £33 million excluding VAT, rising to £39.6 million including VAT.

Although procured by Ealing, the framework is available for use by all London boroughs and the City of London Corporation through established access agreements, providing a single route for local authorities to procure specialist highway condition monitoring services.

Supporting Smarter Highway Asset Management

Under the contract, Preston-based consultancy XAIS-PTS will undertake annual condition surveys of both carriageways and footways, using 2024 survey data as the baseline for monitoring changes in network condition over time.

The inspections will be carried out in accordance with recognised industry standards, generating detailed condition ratings that will support evidence-based investment decisions.

The data collected will be used to develop annual and four-year structural maintenance programmes, enabling authorities to prioritise repairs where they are needed most while making better use of limited maintenance budgets.

As part of the appointment, XAIS-PTS will also assist in developing a comprehensive highway infrastructure asset management strategy, providing a longer-term framework for maintaining and improving highway networks.

Flexible Delivery Across London

The framework operates on a call-off basis, allowing participating authorities to commission surveys and associated services as required rather than committing to fixed workloads.

Contracts can be awarded either through further competition or directly where permitted under the framework, providing flexibility for local authorities responding to changing maintenance priorities.

Performance will be monitored through a series of key performance indicators, including a borough satisfaction measure, with formal reviews taking place every six months.

Value for Participating Authorities

In addition to delivering surveying services, consultants appointed to the framework are required to provide a 2% rebateon the total fees generated across participating authorities during each financial year. The rebate applies separately to each framework lot and is payable to the London Borough of Ealing as the framework authority.

Supporting London's Infrastructure Investment

The award comes as London boroughs continue to face growing pressure to maintain ageing highway infrastructure while managing constrained budgets and increasing expectations around asset performance.

Improved condition monitoring is playing an increasingly important role in helping authorities adopt data-led asset management approaches, enabling maintenance funding to be directed towards interventions that deliver the greatest long-term value and network resilience.

Ealing itself is home to one of the capital's largest infrastructure projects, HS2's Old Oak Common station, with the borough continuing to play a significant role in supporting major transport investment and wider regeneration across west London.