Opposition councillors have won the first round in the battle to save five of the borough's “frontline” services.

Elmbridge Council’s community affairs overview and scrutiny committee met on Tuesday night to discuss recommended saving proposals, as the authority looks at ways of coping with the economic crises.

The five services up for discussion included the closure of two of Elmbridge’s public halls - the Ansell Hall in Walton and the Vine Hall in Molesey - the closure of the Ember Centre for the elderly in Thames Ditton, as well the closure of nine public toilets and the phasing out of the frozen meals service.

Opposition Councillor Ruth Lyon, from the Thames Ditton and Weston Green Residents' Association, proposed a motion to recommend that these services should not be included under the saving proposals.

The vote on the motion was tied when the six opposition councillors voted in favour and the six Tory councillors voted against it.

Chairman of the meeting, Coun Timothy Crowther, had the deciding vote and the motion was passed.

A family bereavement prevented Tory Councillor James Browne from attending, which altered the makeup of the committee to one hung politically.

At the meeting, Coun Lyon said she understood the current economic climate meant the council had to balance the books, but argued that the propsed cuts would only save the council £106,500. She said this amount could be made up from the £5m the council has in reserves, instead of closing services.

“There should be no cuts to frontline services,” she said. “It’s important that we protect and develop our frontline services for vulnerable and elderly people. If you look at this in context with the budget, these cuts would make up minimal savings. Whatever shortfall there is from keeping these services should be made up from the general fund. The council has built up reserves and reserves mean, come a rainy day, they are there to save services.”

However, Tory Councillor Ben White disagreed that the two public halls were “frontline” services and said the council’s reserves should be used to support facilities that were not viable.

He said: “You can’t just dip into reserves as and when you want to. Vine Hall and Ansell Hall are used less than 75 per cent of the time - people just don’t use these services anymore. Places with under 25 per cent usership are not viable services for us.”