CORONAVIRUS has cost the council around £33m so far, the leader has confirmed.

Bolton Council estimates COVID-19 has created extra cost pressures of £15m.

The local authority could also suffer a loss of income of up to £18m due to a fall in council tax, business rates and other payments it collects.

Council leader David Greenhalgh said the town hall is working “incredibly hard” to understand the impact of the pandemic on its budget.

He said: “It is important we differentiate between one-off costs and pressures that will impact on budgets in future years.

“This is a prediction and comes with the warning that no one really knows what the next few months hold, in terms of a second peak and coming out of lockdown.

“It was part of the council’s approved budget strategy to use reserves of at least £9m to support the budget this year, and we will assess the amount that we need and can identify to utilise as the financial year progresses.

“Importantly, we are not anticipating any cash flow issues during the year, which is down to sound financial management, which we have established as a strong base moving forward.

“Whilst the full financial implications will continue to emerge throughout the year, we anticipate the first formal update to be once the first quarter of the year is complete.”

Cllr Greenhalgh also highlighted government grants worth  £17.1m which he said has been “extremely helpful” in supporting the council and almost £1.5bn of help the government has given to Greater Manchester during the pandemic.

However, the leader acknowledged the calls for government assistance in every sector as the country starts to feel the cost of the coronavirus crisis.

He added: “There will be a shortfall in local government finance, and I will be lobbying hard for a further tranche of funding to come local authorities way as we move into this next phase of this pandemic.”

Labour leader Nick Peel said his group will continue to work in a “constructive dialogue” with the Conservatives but will not hold back on challenging them.

He said: “Labour are already persuaded that the Conservative government’s record on confronting the pandemic is amongst the worst in the world.

“The crisis has left this council with a massive financial black hole, with serious government underfunding.

“Our budgets have already been harshly slashed by Tory austerity for a decade, and the pandemic has now led to a financial crisis across all councils.

“I am calling for urgent reports to be brought forward as soon as possible so that all councillors and the people of Bolton are fully aware of the effect the funding problem will have on services.”