In one of their first acts as a new administration, the Conservatives have scrapped the unpopular charges for residents taking building and demolition waste to the County Council's nine household waste recycling centres.

The charges were introduced by the previous Labour administration on Monday 3 April 2017 despite strong opposition from local Conservatives and residents, who had argued it was a false economy which would only lead to an increase in flytipping and the costs associated with clearing it up.

Residents were required to pay £3 per standard rubble sack to take soil, bricks, rubble and ceramics such as bathroom furniture and tiles to the centres.

The fees were withdrawn from Saturday, 6 May 2017 following the local elections on Thursday 4th May 2017, in which the Conservatives took control of the County Council.

The previous policy of accepting a maximum of 50kgs − the equivalent of two 25kg sacks − of building and demolition waste per week was reinstated by using emergency powers held by the chief executive.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, Councillor Simon Spencer said: "Residents across the county can take all their waste to our nine recycling centres for free once again.

"Reversing charges at recycling centres is straight-forward common sense. It's the service Derbyshire tax-payers expect and it's the right thing to do to protect our countryside and local communities.

"But abolishing the charges is just the start. We'll be working with district and borough councils across the county to rid Derbyshire of the fly-tipping that blights our communities even further."

Pictured: The Conservatives hope that by scrapping Labour's controversial tip charges, flytipping such as that pictured near Middle Handley will be discouraged.