Two Liverpool leisure centres are threatened with closure as Liverpool City Council (LCC) weighs up how to make £156m of savings over the next three years.

Under council proposals, which include the loss of 300 jobs, £4m will be saved from the city’s leisure facilities budget over the next three years.

LCC operates 13 Lifestyles Fitness Centres in the city and the £4m figure is expected to be squeezed from existing centres.

A large proportion will derive from the proposed phased closure of Everton Park and Park Road – where Olympic bronze medallist Beth Tweddle trains – centres, starting with their swimming facilities.

A council spokesperson told Leisure Opportunities the two centres have been earmarked for closure as they have relatively low levels of usage and high running costs.

“These centres are both near to other leisure facilities, so the impact on local residents will be less significant,” the spokesperson says.

“Park Road is also an old Victorian building and requires significant investment to remain open. However, this is not a done deal and we’re actively seeking partners to come in and work jointly with the council to keep these centres open.”

LCC has developed a three-year reduction strategy, following Central Government funding cuts of £173m over the last three years, hitting the city with a 56 per cent funding cut in real terms since 2011.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson suggests the city has been harshly treated in the raft of government funding cuts.

“Unfortunately, we are not all in this together. Liverpool – along with other northern cities – has been hit hardest by the Government’s austerity measures,” he says on LCC’s news website.

“If we had received the average cut, we would have £80m more to spend in three years time.”

The budget proposals will be considered on 14 February, with a final set of proposals put to LCC on 5 March.