Council tax bills set to rise

HOMES in Ramsbottom and North Manor are set to see their council tax bills jumping from April.

Bury Council wants to raise its part of the council tax bill by four per cent.

This comes after the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy

Burnham raised his council tax precepts by more than one per cent last week.

If the changes go ahead, homes would pay at least £35.81pa more in council tax, with a hike of £53.72 for Band D properties.

The council will also have to find further savings of £22m over the next four years.

Council leader David Jones explained: “A decade of austerity has taken its toll, with more than £100m stripped from our budgets over that time.

“On top of that, we receive less grant per head of population compared to the Greater Manchester and the England average. All this has consequences, which the people of Bury have seen.

“This budget still requires substantial savings, but these will largely come from greater efficiencies which are designed to cause less impact on frontline services than recent budgets. More importantly, this budget focuses all our efforts on meeting the challenges of the future and our Bury 2030 plan, and the needs of our communities: the increased demand for services, especially those which cost the most money such as social care.”

As well as a rise in council tax, tenants living in council houses will see an increase in rent of 2.7 per cent.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has already set his part of the council tax bill with Band D properties facing a £14 increase for the general precept, which includes fire services, and £10 for policing.