Southampton City Council could close two activity centres in a bid to save more than £40 million over the next two years.

The potential cessation of services at Woodmill Outdoor Activity Centre in Swaythling and Southampton Water Activities Centre in Chapel are revealed in papers set to be scrutinised at a meeting later this week.

The authority needs to save £42.65 million from its budget by 2025-26, and so far plans have identified savings of £32.05m.

In February, Southampton City Council received exceptional financial support from the government, which enabled the council to avoid bankruptcy.

One of the potential areas of savings is the authority's leisure strategy, which it funds at a cost of around £2 million per year.

But it has identified Woodmill and SWAC as sites it should stop providing services at prior to the end of the current leisure contract.

Council papers said that data suggests that most users of these two sites are not Southampton residents, and both sites are “heavily” subsidised – the latter costing the council £29.45 per visit.

While the move is subject to public consultation, the council said its current preference is to find an alternative provider to maintain services without cost to the council.

If that cannot be found, it will then look at other options to dispose of the sites.

Councillor Lorna Fielker, leader of Southampton City Council, said: “We are committed to delivering better outcomes and value for money for all residents and businesses in the city, and we will not get where we need to be by simply cutting services.

“While we need to reduce how much we spend, we are looking at truly transformational changes which will make our services more efficient and accessible for those in need.

“We need to constantly adapt to the changing world around us so the city can continue to grow and thrive, and our transformation plans will help us do this. There will be tough decisions to make along the way, but we will engage with residents and businesses throughout the process to make sure all voices are heard.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) agreed the council could use £121.6m of capital resources to cover everyday revenue costs.

The so-called capitalisation direction enables the council to sell off assets such as buildings to raise money for the cash-strapped council.

It also means the local authority was subject to an independent review and must provide a “detailed transformation and improvement plan”.