Around £2m will be cut from improvements to pavements and outdoor space in Liverpool city centre’s Old Hall Street, Dale Street, Mount Pleasant, and Castle Street.

The city council is looking to use money from developers as part of legal agreements (known as Section 106s) or scale back parts of the schemes.

Projects hit by withdrawals in funding will be able to apply to the new Regional Development Fund from April 2011.

From April the NWDA will also be cutting £450,000 it contributed towards the costs of running the city’s regeneration agency Liverpool Vision, and tourism and investment body The Mersey Partnership (TMP) will lose £600,000.

Lorraine Rogers, chief executive of TMP, said the majority of the organisation’s funding was secure until 2012.

Deborah Aydon, executive director of the Everyman and Playhouse, said: “The loss of £2.4m is a substantial sum, around 10%. We are working very positively with partners to keep momentum going to make sure it is not a show stopper.

“It may mean adjusting the project costs so the fit out is delayed until the end of the project. We want to avoid cutting down the project.”

She said the scheme was “absolutely” still going ahead, and major funder the Arts Council, which is providing £15m, was still fully supportive.

The build is due to start next year.

Ms Aydon said: “Certainly the Arts Council are very much of the opinion that we keep momentum going because if there is a delay there could be an increase in costs.”

Chester Zoo said it will be continuing with its Natural Vision project which is due before planners later this year.