“In particular, as in almost all other cities, the number of planning applications for major developments has fallen considerably.
“While the city council has put funding into the services to cover some of the budget shortfall, it is likely that income to these services from increased development activity will only return slowly.”
Labour regeneration spokesman Cllr Malcolm Kennedy said he felt any decision affecting such a significant share of one department needed looking at by councillors.
He added: “If you do that it’s basically a restructure and to my knowledge that has never been before a select committee for any sort of scrutiny.”
A report by think-tank The Centre for Cities recently projected a nationwide public sector job loss total of up to 290,000 between now and 2014, representing a 4% decline in employment.
Public sector jobs account for 38% of employment in Liverpool compared to 27% nationally.
John Gibbons, spokesman for public sector workers union UNISON, said the council had sought expressions of interest in terms of voluntary redundancies.
He added: “We are working to ensure that members get the best deal they can but in reality there are no firm proposals on the table.”
