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North Yorkshire Council set to spend £2.43m on new winter gritters

Wednesday, 2 September 2026 at 15:16

By Joe Willis, Local Democracy Reporter

North Yorkshire Council's gritting fleet. (Photo: NYC)

A multimillion-pound deal to replace gritters and other winter maintenance vehicles used on North Yorkshire’s roads is set to be approved.

North Yorkshire Council’s shareholder committee will be asked next week to confirm the award of a £2.43m contract by its highways company, NY Highways, to Ripon-based Econ Engineering.

The deal will see a total of 13 new vehicles leased for seven years as part of NY Highways’ fleet replacement programme.

They include eight 18-tonne tippers/gritters, three 18-tonne four-wheel-drive dedicated gritters and a 7.5-tonne permanently mounted tipper/gritter.

A 26-tonne hook-lift vehicle will also be acquired as part of the contract.

Council documents state that several vehicles are due for replacement during the 2026/27 financial year because they are approaching the end of their service lives.

The vehicles will be used by NY Highways for winter maintenance across North Yorkshire.

Officials said the aim was to ensure the company had reliable and fit-for-purpose vehicles to keep roads safe and maintain its operational capacity.

The procurement is also intended to ensure the fleet meets environmental and regulatory standards while improving vehicle availability and reliability for critical maintenance work.

Leasing was considered the preferred option on both budgetary and operational grounds.

Econ Engineering was identified as the preferred supplier following a procurement exercise using the YPO Purchase, Lease and Hire of Specialist Vehicles Framework.

The lease will cost £346,924.76 plus VAT each year, excluding vehicle maintenance, giving a total expected contract value of £2,428,473.32 plus VAT over seven years.

North Yorkshire Council is the sole shareholder of NY Highways and, because the contract exceeds £250,000 a year, the deal requires confirmation by the council’s shareholder committee.

Members meeting on September 8 are being recommended to confirm NY Highways’ decision to award the contract to Econ Engineering.

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