A DIVIDED North Yorkshire County Council agreed by seven votes on Wednesday to sell operations including winter road gritting to a private company based hundreds of miles away.

The full council backed a recommendation by nine members of the Conservative-controlled executive that the direct labour organisation should be privatised, despite union ballots which showed that the move was opposed by 80pc of the 374-strong workforce.

The DLO undertakes road and street lighting maintenance as well as gully emptying, rural grass cutting and upkeep of the council vehicle fleet, but it is to be privatised under the government's best value regime.

Liberal Democrats on the full council were joined by Labour and Independent members in calling for the proposed transfer to Raynesway Construction Southern to be sent back to the environmental services scrutiny committee for more detailed examination. The move was defeated by 36 votes to 29.

The transfer was finally approved by 35 votes to 28, with two abstentions. Hampshire-based RCS, a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty, takes over in April.

The contract, worth about £27m a year, will run for six years with a possible extension to ten. RCS won it against competition from three other private sector contenders following a comparison with the DLO.

Coun Peter Sowray, executive member for environmental services, said the terms of the contract would mean improved quality of service, more work for the organisation and more promotion opportunities for staff.

"Transfer arrangements built into the contract give the council confidence that the interests of staff will be protected. They will be employed under the same terms and conditions and will have access to the North Yorkshire pension scheme."

Mr George Webb, environmental services convenor for the public service union Unison, said staff could understand the move if the DLO was losing money, but it had a proven track record of quality service and was returning a profit year on year.

If it was privatised, direct control of the business would be lost and profits would go to shareholders. The workforce overwhelmingly opposed privatisation.

But council leader Coun John Weighell said: "The council has bent over backwards to make sure workers and their families are not disadvantaged."

After the meeting, Mr Webb would not speculate on what action members might take.