A COUNCIL boss has defended his decision to ignore a watchdog's recommendation that bulky waste charges be dropped to £5 in Burnley and Padiham to deter fly-tippers.

An all-party scrutiny group from Burnley council's environment and housing committee had suggested that slashing the price of the collections, from £17.50, would lead to less fridges and sofas being dumped in back streets.

But the council's executive overturned their recommendation, which would have been on a three-month trial period, and decided to impose a £10 levy.

The move has been blasted by some opposition councillors, who felt the fee would still act as a deterrent for people looking to get rid of larger household items.

Coun Julie Cooper, Labour group leader and a member of the bulky waste scrutiny group, said: “Our report identified a clear link between charging for bulky waste removal and fly-tipping in the borough.

“There was a very strong case for reducing the charge to a level which would lead to a decreased in incidents of fly-tipping.”

She also criticised the town hall's collection deal with private contractor Veolia, which saw the authority lose around £80,000 because of a drop in removal requests from house-holders.

And a Burnley full council meeting was told neighbouring Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn councils did not charge residents for bulky waste collections.

Coun Charlie Briggs, executive member for community safety, said it was no use bringing the fee down to £5 if the service then proved to be uneconomical.

He added: “The council cannot then go back to the people of Burnley and ask for £17.50 again.”

Coun Peter Doyle, Tory group leader, backed the executive's decision and accused Labour of wanting a return to a previous system, where the council was swamped with requests for collections.

“Many items which we now use are collected by retailers.

"For example if you bought a fridge from Curry's then they would collect your old one, which they are requried to do under current legislation,” added Coun Doyle.