A LEISURE centre is under threat and 95 jobs are to go after Burnley Borough Council announced how £2million of cuts will be made.

Staff were told yesterday that several departments would be slimmed down, including leisure, planning, Streetscene and benefits.

And the future of the Spirit of Sport Centre was in doubt after the council announced it was withdrawing workers from the Ormerod Road facility.

In total 67 staff will be given official redundancy notices in the New Year, although some have already been told that their positions will be scrapped.

The other 28 posts are either currently vacant or were due to finish as they were funded directly by the Government.

As part of the cuts, leisure centre charges will also be increased and people are being warned that both planning and benefit applications will take longer to process.

Last night council chiefs insisted the move protected most frontline services and would enable the authority to prepare for further reductions in future years.

But Lib Dem council leader Charlie Briggs added that it had been a very ‘painful’ day for both himself and the council.

Key proposals are:

* Reduced maintenance in parks and green spaces. Posts to be lost include a park ranger, tractor driver, gardener and arborist.

* Council withdrawal from Spirit of Sport centre, which consists of a sports hall, fitness suite, artificial pitches for football and hockey, and floodlit tennis and netball courts. The authority staffs the centre when it is not in use by students at Blessed Trinity school. It will only remain open to the public if the school agrees to take on the enterprise.

* Reduced subsidies and increased leisure centre charges. Free swimming programmes for elderly and youngsters were axed in July and the price of everything from a swim to exercise classes will rise by three per cent.

* Less staffing in planning department which will mean it takes longer for firms and individuals to have planning applications processed.

* Reduced staffing of the Streetscene unit which is responsible for tackling fly-tipping and dirty back yards.

* Neighbourhood management service will cease. The service was introduced to foster community ties in Burnley Wood, Daneshouse and South West Burnley. The posts are being lost as the Elevate Housing Market Renewal programme winds down.

* Anticipated backlogs in benefit assessments as a number of posts have either been axed or merged. The borough has a higher-than-average numbers of claimants and a major shake-up of sickness handouts across the borough is ongoing.

* Reduced opening hours at Visit Burnley. the tourism centre recently relocated from the bus station to Burnley Mechanics. No decision has been made yet on new opening hours.

Critics have said the cuts, forced by the coalition Government, are ‘unfair’ and have hit Burnley harder than leafier southern boroughs like Maidenhead, Poole and Richmond-upon-Thames.

The announcement came on the back of confirmation that the council would lose Housing Market Renewal programme, Working Neighbourhoods Fund and area-based grant cash.

Coun Julie Cooper, the borough’s Labour leader, said: “These cuts could not be more unfair. It is a very sad day for Burnley.

“What sort of Christmas are the people who are going to lose their jobs, and their families going to have?”

Former Labour MP Peter Pike said: “These cuts will impact on the services which I think are important to the people of Burnley.

“Our grant settlement was a reduction of 8.9 per cent. For the 27th most deprived borough in the country that was incredible.”

Coun Briggs said: “This is a painful day for the council and for me personally.

“All of us regret the loss of these jobs, and appreciate the contribution that these staff have made to working for Burnley.”

The cuts are due to be ratified at a full council meeting next month.