Controversial plans for 10 Surrey libraries to be run by volunteers have been approved by councillors for a second time.

At a cabinet meeting of Surrey County Council (SCC) yesterday, councillors voted for the "lesser used branches" - which include Ewell Court, Stoneleigh and Tattenhams - to be run by volunteers by April 2013, while SCC will continue to fund the buildings and equipment.

In May, the high court upheld a challenge to the plan on the grounds that it was "unlawful" as SCC had not given sufficient regard to the effect of the change on children, the disabled and the elderly - and the training volunteers would require to deal with these groups.

SCC agreed to re-consider the decision and said yesterday that more than 300 volunteers have now undergone training - including a teacher, a doctor and a psychologist. 

Once trained, the volunteers will receive on-site advice and support from paid staff who will be at the branches part-time.

Helyn Clack, cabinet member for community services, said: "We could maintain the status quo and watch lesser-used libraries continue to decline in the coming years, or we could let volunteers help them thrive by tailoring their local branch to meet local needs.

"Volunteers can now take a library that is closed three days a week and open its doors daily.

"The way people use libraries is changing. The 10 libraries becoming community partnerships account for just six per cent of all library use and have limited opening hours.

"We’ve found a way to help smaller libraries thrive as we continue to adapt to the changing demands of library users, who are now using the online library more than three million times a year."

But Lee Godfrey, of the Surrey Libraries Action Movement, said SCC has made an ideological decision which will not save money.

He said: "The council's library plan removes professional staff from our libraries but saves no money.

"Given the free choice, SCC has decided that volunteers working just one or two hours every other week will provide a better service than professional staff that have spent years developing their experience, knowledge and training.

"This is an irrational decision driven by ideology alone.

"A mixture of paid staff and volunteers would have allowed all of the benefits of the policy but also the stability, sustainability and professionalism of paid staff, and all at the same cost."