Edinburgh Leisure, the Scottish leisure services management firm, is reportedly to have its budget cut by £347,000.

According to the Edinburgh Evening News, the city council has proposed that the company will have its budget cut from next April, the second successive year this has happened.

When it had £379,000 slashed last year, it had to close its six crèches, leading to expectations that there will be further closures next year.

Councillor Gordon Buchan, the Conservatives' city culture and leisure spokesman, was quoted as saying: "The fear I have is that one of the more rural facilities like Kirkliston could be targeted, or one of the smaller facilities in the city centre.

"We need to do something to preserve sport, leisure and culture facilities and we need to look at doing things in different ways. Just closing down a centre and cutting here and there is not the answer. We need to look at different ways of providing them."

Edinburgh Leisure's interim chief executive John Comiskey said: "As with any organisation which receives an element of its income from the public purse, Edinburgh Leisure will be required to change its business plans to take account of the proposed government funding cuts next year.

"We will review all of our options carefully while always maintaining our commitment to providing excellent sport and leisure facilities and services to the people of Edinburgh."