CONTROVERSIAL plans for monthly rubbish collections for householders in Powys have been binned.

The county will get an extra £1.9m from the Welsh Government after complaints that rural counties were being unfairly treated.

This cash will be used to scrap proposals to cut household waste collections from the current three-weekly service, to only once every four weeks.

Also dropped are plans for sixth-form pupils to pay for travel to and from school, plans to close Tourist Information Centres and cuts to rural bus services.

Schools will get an extra £1.2m and the adult social services budget will be boosted by £1.05m.

The extra cash has been welcomed. Cabinet member for finance, Cllr Wynne Jones, said the move “will mean that a number of very difficult proposals can be withdrawn”.

He added: “We will be taking forward a proposal that we no longer pursue plans to introduce transport charges for post-16 learners or plans for further rural transport funding reductions and plans to move to a four-weekly collection of residual waste.

“Plans to make further cuts to rural bus services will also not be taken forward in the three-year plan and the proposed cut in grant funding for Tourist Information Services has also been dropped from the 2016/17 budget, although there will be a 15 per cent cut in those grants.

“The proposal will also include the provision of an extra £1.2m for the schools delegated budget and an additional £1.05m for adult social services.

But leader of Powys council, Cllr Barry Thomas, warned that, while the extra money would “help a great deal”, “it will not solve all of our problems”.