STORY
A Doncaster councillor has condemned The Harewood over a social media post which targeted a female council enforcement officer during a dispute over parking enforcement. Gemma Cobby, who is the City of Doncaster Council portfolio holder responsible for regulation and enforcement, said she was “deeply appalled” by the venue’s behaviour and described the comments directed at the officer as misogynistic.
Cobby said no council officer should be publicly shamed for carrying out their role and argued that any concerns about an officer’s conduct or challenges to parking tickets should be raised through the council’s formal procedures. She added that people could also raise concerns directly with her in her role as portfolio holder rather than targeting individual members of staff online.
The councillor said she had checked with the relevant service manager on the wellbeing of the officer involved and would offer to meet her personally to thank her for the work she does. The intervention follows criticism of The Harewood after it published a photograph of the enforcement officer on Facebook and made personal comments about her appearance, prompting accusations of bullying and calls from some local residents for a boycott of the venue.