Loreburn Community Council (LCC) vice-chairman Father Andrew Crosbie says scores of people who were not entitled to express an opinion responded to a post – described as ‘gloating’ – about work carried out at Mississippi Bar and Grill in Bank Street, Dumfries.
Having backed action to remove the building’s paintwork, which was judged to have breached conservation rules, on Monday (LCC) said: “We look forward to seeing the work completed and the building properly painted in breathable paint.”
They added: “Well done DGC (Dumfries and Galloway Council) enforcement officer. Take note other offenders in the conservation area. The do as you fancy days are over.”
However, within 24 hours the posting had prompted over 200 responses. One said: “Using social media to have a dig at a local business is uncalled for and very unprofessional.”
Another said said: “This surely is an issue between yourselves and the proprietor, not one to be hashed out over a social media site??? Very disappointing!!!”
Craig Denman, a partner in the Mississippi, has welcomed the reaction. He said: “The local support is just phenomenal; the people that are behind us are just fantastic.”
He added: “They’ve hung themselves, really, as far as I’m concerned. To gloat on something like that from a team of professional local bodies is just diabolical. We all think things like that sometimes, but I’m sure we all think before we talk. It’s diabolical.”
LLC’s Father Crosbie say he is not interested in the Internet debate. But he said: “People have to accept that really only people who live in the community council area have a reason to comment.”
Father Crosbie says some people are ‘not comprehending because they’re not capable of understanding’ that this was not action taken by LCC.
He said: “I know for a fact that our member had to go through this page and delete a vast number of these comments that were racist and offensive.
“Why would anyone be interested in the opinions of these people who aren’t sufficiently educated to articulate their argument in a civilised manner?” Speaking on Wednesday, Father Crosbie has suggested the open page might have to be made private, and accessible only for residents ‘with a proper interest in the community’.
By Wednesday evening, LCC had deleted the discussion thread from its page and posted an apology for any offence which had been caused.
And by Friday morning the Facebook had been switched to private.
NEWSDESK: 01461-202417
