REDUCED opening hours and new charges for DIY waste at the county's tips are being proposed by cash-strapped council chiefs.

Under the changes, people wanting to throw away items such as rubble, construction wood, kitchen units, doors and baths could face fees up to five times higher than at present.

It is part of plans by Oxfordshire County Council to hand more control to private contractors by October 2017, allowing them to charge people 'market rates' for items disposed of at household waste recycling centres.

The council is also proposing to allow a 25 per cent cut to opening times – excluding weekends – which could mean almost 16 fewer hours of operation on weekdays.

It was dismissed as 'another attempt to cut services' by Labour but deputy county council leader Rodney Rose insisted the local authority was responding to what the public had asked for in consultations.

The Conservative councillor added: "We asked people last year for their views on closing some of the waste centres and Oxfordshire resoundingly told us to keep them open.

"We are now trying to respond to that but the council is still short of cash.

"This is a way we can charge people a small amount for the more unusual things that are brought to the centres, which we are not legally obliged to get rid of, to help keep them open.

"It is a way we think the sites can remain sustainable until we can look to build bigger and better sites in the long-term."

At the moment the disposal of DIY, non-household waste is free for the first three items. People can dispose of another 10 for £1 each.

But under the changes, officials said the contractor running the council's waste centres could instead charge between £2 and £4 for all DIY items.

This could mean a bill for 13 items rising from just £10 to as much as £52 overall.

Labour county councillor John Tanner, also a senior councillor at Oxford City Council, said any reduction in services would be fought 'tooth and nail'.

He added: "This is just another attempt to cut back on essential services for people in Oxfordshire.

"People are going to be very angry about this and will wonder what they are paying council tax for.

"It is true the county council has some very real financial problems, but this is not the way to deal with them."

The move comes after the council delayed proposals to close half the county's tips after an outcry from taxpayers.

It had originally suggested closing tips at Ardley and Alkerton and replacing Stanton Harcourt and Oakley Wood to save £350,000.

Redbridge tip in the Old Abingdon Road, Oxford, and one in Steventon Road, Drayton, near Abingdon, could have also been replaced.

The council said it now did not expect any tips to close for at least seven years.

A decision to tender the new household waste recycling contracts will be considered by the cabinet next Tuesday at 2pm in County Hall.