AROUND 4,500 households in Bury have had their council tax bill cut by £150.

Households in receipt of council tax support have automatically had their balance credited with the extra cash.

The £150 has been credited against the full year and will reduce the balance and all the remaining instalments.

New council tax bills will be issued to reflect the deduction.

This comes after the government gave Bury Council a £1.8m hardship fund aimed to help residents cope with financial difficulties associated with the coronavirus crisis.

Some of this money, around £800,000 has been put aside to help residents who remain in significant financial hardship through one-off payments.

Around 8,500 households were initially estimated to be eligble for the additional financial support.

Council leader Cllr David Jones offered his assistance to help those struggling to pay their council tax because of the coronavirus crisis.

He said: “We estimate 4,500 people have had £150 deducted from their council tax balance because they’re in receipt of council tax support.

“If anyone is incurring difficulty, they can e-mail the council tax support team or me individually.

“The traditional ways of paying council tax are not possible at the moment. We are asking residents to pay online or by the phone. I do understand that not everybody has access to the internet but they can still ring the help desk.”

Bury households face a 4.66 per cent hike in their council tax bill this year, starting from April.

Bury Council raised its part of the council tax bill by four per cent at a budget meeting in February.

This came after Andy Burnham raised the Greater Manchester mayoral council tax precepts by £24 for Band D properties.

Council tax support is available to help households on a low income and is applicable to all property bands.

How much support residents get depends on income, savings and whether applicants are working or pension age.

In Bury, everyone of working age who gets council tax support has to pay at least 20 per cent of their council tax.

A total of five community hubs have also been set up across Bury to target help and support to the most vulnerable and needy during the Covid-19 crisis.

These virtual teams will bring together the council, emergency services, housing, business and voluntary groups acting on one united front.

The hubs have received around 140 calls a day from people asking for support.

A hotline has been set up for people to contact the hubs on 0161 253 5353.