Councillors have given the green-light for a social enterprise to run the borough's libraries.

Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) are set to take control of all 11 of the libraries and the Wandsworth heritage service, which runs out of Battersea Library.

It comes after Wandsworth and Croydon councils joined forces to put their library services out to tender, which will save the council £500,000 a year.

Croydon Council will hold a separate meeting next week and are expected to pick a different organisation.

Opposition councillors have criticised the lengthy tendering process of joining with another council.

Labour councillor Councillor Leonie Cooper said: "The Wandsworth Conservatives have undertaken this process doggedly determined to find a private provider to outsource the library service to - but what this expensive process has shown is what we told them from the start.

"Not-for-profit organisations are running modern libraries successfully up and down the country, and could and should do the same here in Wandsworth."

GLL will run the service from April 2013 for a period of eight years, if councillors approve plans at full council.

A total of 146 employees are expected to retain their jobs, with the creation of a full time and part time post too.

Diana Edmonds, head of libraries at GLL said: "GLL, a charitable social enterprise, is committed to providing excellent library services for local communities.

"We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder by Wandsworth Council, however as we have yet to be awarded the contract it would be premature to make further comment at this stage."

Councillors will make a final decision at full council on December 5.