Attleborough Town councillors have been offered the taxpayer-funded therapy sessions following a ‘surge in negativity’ on Facebook

A crisis-hit town council has agreed to pay for councillors to go to therapy to cope with the stress after an online backlash over ‘infighting’

Members of Attleborough Town Council have been offered the taxpayer-funded sessions following a “surge in negativity” on Facebook.

Much of the online criticism was triggered by a row between councillors over a business deal, rather than their council-related activities, and the decision to offer counselling has caused anger among voters and the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The idea of funding therapy sessions was agreed during a meeting where Samantha Taylor – who sits on the council along with father, John, and daughter, Taila – said her family had been abused online over a disagreement with another councillor, Daniel Burcham, about a pub they own in the town.

The row is the latest to hit the authority after another councillor, Stephen Fraser, was charged with criminal damage following a bizarre late-night incident last month in which a shop window was damaged.

Taila Taylor, who is deputy mayor of Attleborough and a close friend of Mr Fraser’s, faced questions over the same incident after it emerged she had been present at the time but had not reported anything to the police.

The social media row erupted in March after Mr Burcham and his husband Paul had their offer of a lease withdrawn from the Bear pub.

The couple were running the property for the Taylor family – who also own Attleborough’s London Tavern – but left after just two months behind the bar.

While the Burchams soon took over another Attleborough pub, the Griffin, their departure from the Bear sparked great controversy on local Facebook groups, where there was strong criticism of the Taylor family’s handling of the deal.

Speaking at the meeting last month, Samantha Taylor, who is also the chairman of Breckland Council where she sits as a Conservative, said the lease was withdrawn because of a failure to comply with the terms.

This included alleged instances of staff posting images of drug paraphernalia on social media while on the premises, she said.

Taila Taylor said her family had also faced an online backlash over controversial agreements made by the whole council, such as its decision to take back and manage the building used by Attleborough Town Football Club.

The criticism on Facebook had a detrimental impact on the mental health of councillors, she said.

Samantha Taylor said: “There are always going to be residents within the community that are disgruntled, but there has been a recent surge in the negativity being projected towards myself and my family, primarily in our roles as councillors.

“What is most unfortunate about this is that it mostly descends from a business decision that had nothing to do with the council or our role as councillors and is not a reflection of our commitments to this community that we have served on and off for decades.

“It remains a mystery to us how the details of a private business transaction found their way to the public domain or how the residents that have been so vocal on the withdrawal of this transaction have considered themselves in a position to assume they know the ins and outs and assign blame.”

Taila Taylor said online criticism had come from “a few very vindictive individuals” and suggested action should be taken by the council to address this.

During the meeting, Vera Dale, a Conservative councillor, recalled an incident several years ago in which a member of the public threatened to kill a councillor’s cat, resulting in a resignation because the councillor “couldn’t cope”.

Nigel Thwaites added: “There has been a lot of mud thrown and it will stick if we are not careful. The only way to get around it would be to bring a case of slander or libel – and I hope we never have to.”

The council then moved into a below-the-line session, which is held behind closed doors. Here, the members agreed to “approve counselling for any councillors who feel they need it” and “seek legal advice regarding this matter”.

The move has sparked criticism. One voter, who asked not to be named, said: “If this dispute didn’t happen in council hours, then why is the council paying for the fallout?”

John O’Connell, CEO of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Residents will rightly question why council funds are being used to pay for therapy relating to what councillors themselves described as a private matter. Taxpayers’ money should be focused on delivering local services, not managing the fallout from internal disputes.”

The council is still reeling from the fallout of Mr Fraser’s arrest last month. He has been charged with criminal damage after the window of Richard Allington Kitchens was found smashed.

The councillor is a close friend of Taila Taylor – who stepped down as Attleborough mayor last month – and both sit on Breckland Council as well as Attleborough Town Council. He is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court next month.

Miss Taylor is not facing any police action but CCTV footage showing her near the scene at the time the window was broken has raised questions about why she did not report the matter to officers at the time.

Mr Fraser was also questioned on suspicion of theft after two A-boards from outside the nearby Griffin pub were taken on the same night.

However, he will face no further action relating to this.