Bury has some of the ‘lowest levels of funding per person’ in Greater Manchester as its council faces a £14m budget gap, bosses say.
The town hall is planning £9.5m in savings; a council tax hike of 5 per cent; and will take the rest – £4m – from reserves. The borough received around £24m less than the regional average in funding, according to a finance report.
With a total budget of around £252m, the figure works out at around £1,210 per person – £120 less per resident than the Greater Manchester average. Compared to Salford, which is projected to receive the highest amount at £1,570 per person, the difference is almost £400 per person.
Bury has the eighth lowest level of spending in Greater Manchester, followed by Stockport (£1,192 pp) and Trafford (£1,032 pp).
Finance bosses say the council’s position is still ‘improved’, with the spending power per person almost doubled compared to last year’s budget. The council is also getting a three-year settlement. Bury will receive £248m for 2026/27, which will gradually rise to £267m by the 2028/29 budget.
“This means we can plan and invest more efficiently,” said Councillor Sean Thorpe, cabinet member for finance. “But the money is not keeping up with the number of people who need our help, or the complexity of the support they need, when you factor in the sharp rise in demand for services, inflation, and the legal duties we must meet.”
The financial hole is largely due to soaring demand for services the council is legally required to deliver. Around 70 pc of the council’s spending (£164m) currently goes towards adults and children’s social care, with local authorities often forced to pay expensive premiums by private companies for specialist care. The most costly children’s placement at Bury charges the council £18k a week.
To plug the gap, the council plans to raise council tax by 4.99pc – of which 2pc is ringfenced for adult and social care spending. They will also increase ‘leisure charges’, car parking charges, and fees for things like EV charging applications to bring these in line with other Greater Manchester boroughs.
The £9.5m of cuts include a £3m workforce transformation – reducing agency staff, restructuring around vacancies, and introducing AI. The council will also carry out a financial review into costs of temporary housing and social care, such as saving £1m by ‘stepping down’ kids into more affordable residential settings (such as placing children with foster parents instead of kids’s homes).
Cllr Thorpe said: “We are determined to do everything we can to protect those who need our services the most, and without having to take the drastic measures proposed by some other councils.
“Despite the financial challenges we face in meeting day-to-day needs, the results of our long-term investment are becoming clear for all to see. We have vibrant investment in regeneration taking place in Bury, Radcliffe and Prestwich, and plans for other parts of our borough. And on our border, the huge Atom Valley development promises to create thousands of jobs for local people.
“Times are tough, but there are many reasons to be optimistic too.”
The significant regeneration projects taking place around the borough, such as the recently name flexi-hall at Bury Market, the transport hub and village square redesign in Prestwich, and leisure centre in Radcliffe, are all funded from grant funding and capital spending – a separate pot of money from the council’s revenue.
If greenlit by townhall bosses at a Cabinet meeting next week, the 2026/27 budget will be set by the full council on Wednesday 25 February.
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