COUNTY council-run tips will see summer opening times slashed by two hours under cost cutting plans agreed today.

Household Waste Recycling Centres will open one hour later at 9am and close one hour earlier at 6pm between March and September.

They will also open one hour later in the winter after the changes come into effect in April.

It follows a consultation with residents on a number of options to reduce opening hours.

The majority opted to open tips one hour later and only reduce opening time by one hour in the evening rather than two.

This was also backed by a cross party committee this morning, who are to re-examine the effects the new opening hours in six months.

Making his decision today, county council environment boss Cllr Sean Woodward said: "I was persuaded by the fact that most residents thought it was the right thing to do and the select committee whose job it is to advise me persuaded me of the decision."

But one member of the committee, Botley and Hedge End county councillor Cllr Robert Kyrle, had opposed the changes, which will mean less time to visit the tip before or after work.

He said: "It will mean some people will not be able to access the service at all. Some people can't pay to have their goods taken away."

Cllr Kyrle said many tips were already busy and reducing opening hours in the morning and evening would cause congestion on access roads.

The changes come after a decision in November to charge residents for disposing of DIY waste which will be charged at the gate.

This will only be for asbestos, plasterboard, soil and rubble and the fee will be about £1 or £2 per 25kg bag.

Waste fees for builders and gardeners are to be accepted to boost income but fees for them have not yet been set, although they are expected to be in line with trade prices.

As reported on the Daily Echo’s Greenwatch pages, 66 per cent of residents polled in a consultation opposed this measure, chiefly because they felt they already paid for the service in their council tax.

Originally, county council officials had proposed shutting one or more household recycling centres but did a U-turn after nearly two-thirds of people who responded to a public consultation opposed closures.