Rate bills arrive

The bill shows the amount owed for the billing period 2010/11 as well as any debt carried forward from previous years.

A Land and Property Services spokesperson said: “There are 31,458 ratepayers in Craigavon Borough Council and through the payment of their rates they have helped to fund the provision of a number of public services.

"In fact, since 2006/07 alone, almost 174million has been collected in the Craigavon area. This money has been invested in vital public services such as healthcare, education and roads as well as helping to fund a number of council services including recreational facilities, bin collection, tourism and local events.”

The LPS spokesperson continued: “This year’s bill has been redesigned to make it more user friendly and to allow ratepayers to see the most important information at a glance. A new booklet has also been produced which will be issued to all ratepayers with their bill. We would encourage everyone to read this booklet carefully as it contains a lot of useful information about how their bill is calculated, methods of payment, how to get help with paying your rates, as well as, answers to a number of frequently asked questions.”

A four per cent discount is available to all Northern Ireland domestic ratepayers if they pay their rate bill in full by May 7.

This year a new and convenient way to pay your rates is being offered with a new ‘Rates QuickPay Card’. Customers who wish to use this card can simply bring it along to any Post Office or one of the 800 participating payzone outlets and pay their bill either in full or by instalments.”