The post was later taken down.
The council said the tone of the post was ‘slightly off’ and confirmed it was removed (Image: MEN)
A social media post which urged the residents of Salford to avoid the high street for their Christmas shopping has been removed by the council after an intense backlash.
In a message, shared to Facebook on December 19, the council urged people to do their shopping online instead of making a trip to the shops. It sparked criticism from people in the comments below the post, and from Salford’s Conservative opposition group.
The Facebook post was taken down a few hours after being published. It read: “If you’ve still got Christmas shopping to do, and you’re planning to go to town or elsewhere, sack it off and do it online instead, it’s gonna be hammered now.”
One person left a comment below the post saying the council should be ‘supporting local businesses not encouraging locals to avoid them.’
Coun Bob Clarke, leader of Salford Conservative group, said: “We should be supporting our local shops as best as possible, and probably think things through before pressing the send button. It is slightly inappropriate, especially with the problems businesses are having with the current government with business rates and consumer confidence.”
A post on Salford councils social media which was later deleted.
Salford council said the ‘tongue-in-cheek tone was slightly off’ and confirmed the post had been deleted.
A spokesperson said: “On social media we work really hard to engage with residents across our various accounts, to have a conversation with people so that residents have confidence that they can raise issues with us and get a reply.
“There’s not a bot behind our customer services support, it’s a group of real people, dedicated to working to support our residents and 99 times out of 100 we get the tone right.
“Unfortunately, on this occasion, the tongue-in-cheek tone was slightly off. It was not intended to cause concern, but we responded quickly and removed the post.”
Shops on some high streets across the country have struggled to survive in recent years, as shopping habits have been shifting online.
Salford council stressed that it is a ‘huge advocate’ of Salford’s high streets and shopping local.
The spokesperson added: “Just two weeks ago we featured shopping local on our social media accounts, with a range of posts linked to the Small Business Saturday initiative and the free parking we offer at council car parks on Saturdays in the run up to Christmas.
“These social media posts reached over 22,000 accounts generating shares, likes, reactions and comments on our various accounts.
“This work follows on from our award-winning Home is on your High Street campaign which we ran in 2022, which was aimed at encouraging people to return to local high streets after the Covid pandemic.”
Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said the Facebook post ‘wasn’t quite right on this occasion’, adding: “Our staff are Salford people, they should be praised for speaking in plain language, trying to inject a little humour, fun and hope when so much communication these days makes us feel sad angry and despair.
“Local businesses are the lifeblood of Salford, as a city we’re characterised by SMEs, and the city council takes social value and impact seriously. We’re not complacent and fully appreciate that there’s always more to do to keep the Salford pound in Salford.”