£5 Million Tram Deal
A Nottingham road resurfacing company is the latest firm to receive a major boost from the city’s tram expansion project.
Thomas Bow City Asphalt has secured the £5 million contract from NET Phase Two construction contractors, Taylor Woodrow Alstom as work on the project intensifies.
The company, based in Middleton Street, is replacing road surfaces along the tram extension routes to Clifton and Chilwell as new tracks are laid.
Managing Director Alistair Bow said he was delighted to be involved in such a high-profile project in the city that’s been home to the firm for more than 140 years.
“We carry out road surfacing work for local authorities across the East Midlands and beyond, but we’re particularly pleased with being given the opportunity to work so close to home on a project that’s transforming the city,” he said.
Established in 1867, Thomas Bow remains a family-owned firm and now employs around 120 people, the majority of them from Nottingham and the surrounding areas.
Alistair also said the tram contract has been won at an important time as the firm had been feeling the effects of the squeeze on public spending.
“Around 80 per cent of our work comes from the public sector and, like a lot of other companies working in construction, we’ve found conditions challenging over the past few years,” he explained.
“Although the situation is starting to improve, this contract has provided us with a significant boost and is helping to secure jobs for the future.”
Thomas Bow is one of many Nottinghamshire firms to benefit from the tram works. To date, almost £25 million worth of contracts have been placed with businesses in the city and over £75 million with companies across the East Midlands.
Paul Harris, Programme Director at Taylor Woodrow Alstom, commented: “From the very start of the project we made a commitment to work with local companies.
“Since then we’ve promoted opportunities for the local business community through a number of initiatives, and we are pleased these have resulted in a real boost for the local economy alongside the creation and safeguarding of many jobs.”
Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, said: “Not only will NET Phase Two help to stimulate the long-term economic growth for the city, but already many businesses, like Thomas Bow, are getting much-needed work contracts from its construction.
“It would not be possible for the city to lever the government funding to extend the tram, providing jobs and supplier contracts for local people and local companies, if we didn’t have the Workplace Parking Levy which provides much-needed funding for several transport projects in the city including the tram works.
“It is therefore particularly pleasing that nearly triple the amount of funding raised by the first year of the Workplace Parking Levy – some £25m is already being invested back into local firms through contracts generated by the tram construction alone.”
Once built, the extended tram system is expected to generate long-term employment growth of up to 8,000 jobs which could potentially boost the local economy by around £300m per year.