The council fears charges could lead to a rise in fly-tipping

Powys Council has decided to stop its service of providing six free collections a year of bulky waste and will start charging householders �20 for taking away items from April.

The move is one of a number of measures to provide across the board service cuts of 2 %.

Residents will also see a rise in car parking charges and cuts in road resurfacing.

We do anticipate that some people won't want to pay the �20 charge and there will be increase in fly-tipping Powys Council spokesman

A spokesman for the local authority said the decision to charge for collecting bulky waste could lead to an increase in fly-tipping.

"The service should be cheaper to run because people will decide to keep their heavy waste for one collection.

"This means that there won't be so many collections and will save us �250,000 a year.

"We do anticipate that some people won't want to pay the �20 charge and there will be increase in fly-tipping."

�50,000 has been set aside to pay for the feared rise in the dumping of unwanted items.

'Crazy'

The move to put off some road repairs will save the council �180,000 next year but will lead to 'accelerated deterioration and worsening highway conditions' according to a report by a council officer.

Paul Walters, head of roads and transport policy for the Automobile Association, said the decision was 'really crazy'.

"They have set up a false economy because any savings could cost the council up to nine time more if the road starts to deteriorate," he said.

"Roads left unrepaired will let water in which will hasten its deterioration and play havoc with the surface."

A meeting of the council's highways committee on Tuesday also decided to raise car-parking charges by 10p and introduce car charges in all car parks that are now free.