THE TORY administration has bowed to pressure from opposition parties and the public by dropping a list of controversial cuts to council jobs and services from this year's budget.

Proposals to reduce the borough's library archive service, cut street cleaning jobs and raise rental fees for allotment holders were among a list of savings announced by the council to try and fill its predicted £10.9 million funding gap this year.

The plan to make the archive service appointment only - and to replace its current fully qualified librarian with a collections officer - aroused particularly intense opposition from residents across the borough, with protesters making a deputation before the crunch budget meeting last night (Thursday) which called on councillors to reject the scheme.

And in a surprise move the Conservative leadership agreed to defer the proposal until April next year, together with all six other concessions demanded by the Labour and Lib Dem groups - including plans to cut a planning officer and street scene enforcement officer post, and to stop paying for expert highways staff to attend local area committee meetings.

Council leader Keith Prince - whose party does not currently hold an overall majority in the chamber - said the concessions showed that they had listened to the views of the public.

He said: "This paper shows that the council has listened to the people.

"We are in one of the worst recessions in our history and we have to put the blame for that squarely on the shoulders of the Government.

"The public want us to protect frontline services, and we have done our best to do that."

Cllr Prince acknowledged the influence of his fellow party leaders on the final decisions.

He said: "I have a great respect for the leaders of (Labour and the Lib Dem groups). We have worked together to make a budget that works for the people of Redbridge."

Lib Dem councillor Ian Bond said the council could not blame all of its financial problems on the Government - and pointed to the positive results of closer cross-party co-operation.

He said: "It's about time the council listened to what people want.

"When we have the opportunity to debate things we can come to a much better outcome.

"Majority control of the council is often a bad thing for the public."

It was not such plain sailing for the council's capital programme and housing budget proposals however, with Lib Dem councillor Gary Staight demanding that road maintenance projects be safeguarded to help tackle the borough's growing sea of potholes - and Labour group criticism of Redbridge's growing housing waiting list.

The budget for 2010/11 was eventually passed by councillors, including the proposal to freeze Council Tax this year - with the average Band D rate set at £1,095.53.