A recycling centre previously threatened with closure amid budget cuts will remain open, Bucks County Council has confirmed.

The county council "reluctantly" announced unpopular plans to make cuts to the recycling centre service in January this year, including the closure of both Bledlow Ridge and Burnham tips, in a bid to save £1.2 million.

While the Bledlow Ridge site in Wigans Lane has already been shut down, the Burnham site in Crow Piece Lane has now been saved.

This is because the county council's money-saving arrangements - which included the reduction in opening hours at other sites including Chesham and Aylesbury and new charges for dumping rubbish - have been so successful, the Burnham centre's permanent closure is now no longer needed.

Speaking after Monday's Cabinet meeting, where the decision to keep the Burnham centre open was confirmed, Cllr Bill Chapple OBE, chief of planning and environment said he was "pleased" with the news.

He said: "Back in January, these were tough changes to introduce, particularly the charges for non-household waste, and we knew they would not be popular. That said, we are on track to achieve the cost savings that I needed to make over the longer term, so I'm delighted we can keep Burnham open.

"Following a huge communication exercise to advise residents of the changes earlier in the year, we saw a 50 per cent increase in what would become chargeable waste coming into the sites during March before the deadline.

"We therefore knew we would be playing catch up and, although income remains lower than initially modelled, we are seeing a steady return as we and local residents get used to the new system.

"Can I take this opportunity to remind householders that around three-quarters of all waste is still completely free to take to our recycling centres.

"On the chargeable waste element, we are seeing an average cost of about £8 a visit, so only a small extra charge on your DIY type jobs."

Despite fears from residents that the new rules would see a hike in fly-tipped rubbish being dumped around the county, the council is adamant that they have not seen an increase - but they said they would be "keeping a very close eye" in future.

Cllr Chapple added: "People don't just become fly tippers because of a small charge. In our experience most fly tipping relates to commercial and criminal activity where there was no intention to take in to a recycling centre in the first place.

"That's why we will continue our zero-tolerance approach to prosecuting anyone who dares fly tip in Buckinghamshire."