TWO small North Yorkshire councils that have saved £1.8m by sharing services have presented their work to a national audience.

Hambleton and Richmond District Councils began merging services in 2009 as a means of cost-cutting and now has a single chief executive, along with shared IT, communications and waste disposal departments among others.

The arrangement allowed the rural councils to avoid redundancies ahead of government budget cuts and also to remain independent.

Council members, officers and unions were all involved in devising the reshuffle.

Officers from Hambleton and Richmondshire District Councils travelled to Leeds last week to speak to a national conference about their experience.

The audience at Leeds Town Hall contained delegates from other local authorities across the UK.

Chief executive of both councils, Peter Simpson, said: “The level and pace of ambition at that time was unmatched anywhere within the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

“Our philosophy and approach is built around making real changes in real time with people acting, not simply talking and producing plans.”

So far the move has saved the councils £600,000 a year, but by the end of this year is should have saved the authorities an annual £1.8m.