A COUNCIL'S controversial plan to spend £175,000 a year publishing its own magazine have been temporarily blocked.

The free, 12-page Life In Salford is currently issued six times a year at a cost of £55,000 and delivered to homes by Royal Mail.

Salford council leader John Merry wants to publish a monthly, 24-page magazine, costing £174,804 a year to produce.

But the proposal has been put back for further consideration by a council scrutiny committee and will be decided at a full council meeting later this month. The city's Tory opposition had asked for the plan to be reconsidered.

Tory leader Coun Karen Garrido told the scrutiny committee: "It is a huge waste of taxpayers' money at a time when residents are struggling to pay their council tax."

She said there had been no consultation about the plan and added: "It is good to communicate with residents but six editions a year is sufficient."

A town hall report said the council hoped to claw back £36,000 through advertising. The 12 editions would take £22,440 to design, £71,796 to print and £80,568 to distribute to every home in Salford.

Coun Merry said £100,000 could be saved by using the magazine to place legal public notices instead of using weekly or daily newspapers.

He said: "Something that gives information about council services and is an opportunity to save money is worth doing."

He claimed research had shown 84 per cent of the population received the magazine and 62pc found it useful.

But other members of the committee said they believed the magazine often went straight in the bin.