North Somerset Council said “we have listened” as it rowed back on shutting Backwell Recycling Centre — but it will be down to future administrations to keep it open.

Dropping the plan to close the recycling centre was one of several planned cuts axed from the budget as it was agreed by a meeting of the council’s executive on January 8. The budget now needs to go to full council to be approved.

The council’s executive member for corporate services Ash Cartman said: “It’s been a hard process to balance the budget.

“With £35m of spending pressures, I think we’ve done an amazing job – or the team have done an amazing job.

“We continue to protect the services and I think we’re all pleased — although we’ve had to compromise, given our financial pressures — to continue to be open fair and green.”

He added: “As councillors, I know we have listened. And there are changes in [the budget]. Let’s be honest, we have changed our mind on a few things in response to the feedback we were making.”

The plan to save £300,000 by closing Backwell Recycling Centre was abandoned last month. More than 1,500 people had signed a petition opposing the closure.

But at the executive meeting, former Conservative council leader, Nigel Ashton asked: “Does that mean you have just postponed closing that until after the election?”

North Somerset Times: More than 1,500 people had signed a petition opposing the site's closure.More than 1,500 people had signed a petition opposing the site's closure. (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Cartman said: “My view is quite clear: it’s not closing. And if a different council in a year, two, three, four, five years decides it wants to do it, that’s up to that council. This council is not doing it.

“So the question is what would the next council do, or what do the people who aspire to be the next council do?”

Mr Ashton replied: “I totally agree, but you could say that about every decision in that case.”

This is the last budget which will be set by the current council — a rainbow coalition of Independent, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green councillors — before North Somerset’s next local election on May 4.

In addition to the plan to close the recycling centre, the council has also dropped plans to review staff of family social workers and to increase the cost of public toilets. Plans to turn children’s centres into “family hubs” and to cut grants to the voluntary sector have also been scaled back.

Mr Cartman said: “Actually, I think we need more people in local politics and national politics sometimes to listen to what the public want and actually respond accordingly to make sure their priorities are reflected in what we do.”

In total about half a million pounds of cuts were taken out of the budget. But the council will be generating almost £2.5m from increasing council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent allowed, two percentage points of which will be ring fenced for adult social care

At a meeting of full council on January 10, Mr Cartman had said that raising council tax would allow them to balance the budget and warned that not doing so would mean further cuts would be needed.

It is believed that about 10,000 of the most in need households in North Somerset could qualify for some amount of council tax discount.