South Holland District Council staff should be free from abuse, says cabinet member
Staff at South Holland District Council have been defended after a recent spate of online abuse from members of the public.
Anger over an announcement by Hills Department Store on Wednesday to close its store in Broad Street, Spalding, after 60 years spilled over onto social media, with some blaming the closure on the council's support for Springfields Outlet Shopping.
The online attacks also followed the council's update on plans worth £500,000 to improve Spalding town centre, including the appointment of a town centre improvement coordinator to gather ideas from residents, businesses and community groups.
In a statement on Thursday , a district council spokesman confirmed there had been "several instances of personal abuse" aimed at council staff.
"We would like to remind people that council staff are real people employed to do everything they can to make South Holland a better place and deliver the key services that many of us depend upon," the statement continued.
Now former deputy council leader Coun Gary Taylor has defended staff, claiming that those posting abuse online were "having a go at the wrong people for the wrong reasons".
Coun Taylor, the council's portfolio holder for communities and facilities, said: "I'm not trying to have a go at anybody or patronize anybody because things should be scrutinised in a mature way.
"But there have been comments by a few people having a go at the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
"People should spend a bit of time investigating where decisions have come from because in this organisation, it's not the officers who make the decisions.
Explaining his stance further on social media yesterday, Coun Taylor said: "Some decisions are made by councillors in various capacities, other decisions come from recommendations by task groups and scrutiny panels.
"Also during the present pandemic, some decisions are actually direct instructions from the Government.
"Hopefully, we can have a robust debate about local issues and discuss the argument regarding the alternatives, without the unnecessary personal comments which, in my view, often distracts from the issue in question, muddies the waters and generates bad feeling."
