Services like rubbish collection could be run by one council

On Tuesday North Yorkshire County Council members voted in favour of a merger with the district councils.

Instead of district councils running some services and the county council controlling others, it would mean just one authority doing everything.

But the district councils said the move would create a body "too big to deliver the local services people expect".

'Remote government'

Hambleton District Council leader Arthur Baker, speaking on behalf of the district authorities, said: "We do not believe this is the best way forward. It will create remote government not local government.

"North Yorkshire - at over 3,000 square miles in size and with over 580,000 residents - is simply too big to be managed by one authority - it would not be able to reflect communities and their individual needs."

Mr Baker said a public consultation in 2004 by the Boundary Committee revealed North Yorkshire people wanted council services to be provided by local authorities smaller than one based on the existing county boundary.

COUNCILS WHICH COULD MERGE North Yorkshire County Council Hambleton District Council Harrogate Borough Council Richmondshire District Council Ryedale District Council Scarborough Borough Council Selby District Council Craven District Council

"Nothing has changed since then. We need to reflect local choice and our proposals do just that," he added.

North Yorkshire County Council is submitting a business plan to the government.

It said creating a single unitary authority would "harness all of the skills and resources across local government, and to do an even more effective job".

The new council would give much better value for money, it said.

The Local Government White Paper, presented in Parliament in October, gave the go-ahead for councils to bid for unitary status.