Enfield Council has been accused of acting like a dictatorship over a decision to cut bin collections in the face of public opposition.

The council’s Conservative group leader Cllr Joanne Laban urged the Labour administration to “respect the will of the people” after two-thirds of those who were consulted said they wanted to keep weekly collections.

The consultation – which drew the biggest response in Enfield’s history – showed just 9 per cent of more than 5,500 respondents backed the proposals favoured by council officers to move to fortnightly collections for refuse and recycling.

But senior councillors this week gave the green light to cutting bin rounds after a lengthy debate with council officers over why the changes had been recommended.

Cllr Laban said: “The Conservative Group is extremely disappointed that the Labour administration has recommended to change the wheeled bin service to fortnightly collection for refuse and dry recycling.

“There were many options to choose from in the consultation, but the administration has chosen the one that least reflected people’s views.

“The Labour administration in this regard is acting more like a dictatorship than a democratic institution.”

The Conservative leader said the most deprived areas would suffer the most from the changes and argued a rise in fly-tipping would wipe out any savings made from the shake-up.

Cllr Laban added: “The outcome of the bin consultation was to keep the status quo. The results of the recent budget consultation were that the public wanted waste services and street cleansing protected.

“I therefore ask that the cabinet respects the will of the people and backs off our bins!”

The bins shake-up – which is due to save the council more than £2 million a year – will also see the roll-out of a separate, weekly food waste collection and a £65-a-year charge for garden waste rounds.

Labour councillors argue that failing to save money from waste collections would mean having to make cuts to areas such as adults’ and children’s social care, as local government continues to bear the brunt of austerity measures.

Cllr Guney Dogan, cabinet member for environment, has written to residents to explain why the council is pushing ahead with the changes, which do not apply to communal collections from flats and hard-to-reach properties.

His letter points out that the council has had to save £178 million since 2010 and needs to make a further £18 million of savings in 2019-20.

Cllr Dogan said: “The scale of this financial challenge means that the primary consideration when assessing the proposals for the future of the waste and recycling collection service has had to be the savings that can be achieved – as we have made clear throughout the consultation.

“If these savings are not made to waste and recycling collections, they would have to be made elsewhere from other services, or additional income raised.”

Cllr Dogan added that the council will invest £500,000 a year into street cleaning and focus on tackling fly-tipping, as well as putting extra resources into boosting recycling.

The Mayor of London has a target for 50 per cent of household waste to be recycled by 2030, and it is hoped the changes will help Enfield achieve this goal.

Cllr Dogan said: “While this council will always make the changes necessary to enable us to continue to deliver quality services despite shrinking funds, we also remain hugely ambitious for the borough and recognise that the council’s environment department has a central role in creating a borough that is a great place for people to live and work.”

Cabinet’s decision means the bin changes will now go to full council for approval.

The decision could also be challenged by a call-in to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee.