Potholes: Glasgow Council urges patience from road users as it tries to repair damage

Glasgow City Council is urging road users to be patient as repair teams deal with a rising number of potholes.

There has been growing frustration about the current state of the streets as well as the process to claim for compensation.

Andy Mollon, head of roads at the council, said he had brought in “external partners” to work “day and night” on repairs alongside his own team.

Mr Mollon described cold weather in December followed by heavy rain as “the worst recipe possible” for potholes forming.

He said: “Ultimately, there will be a lot of potholes out there. We can’t fix them all at the same time, we have to prioritise which ones we have to do first.

“If we find a defect that requires an immediate response, then we will do an immediate response.

“We just ask the public if they can be patient with us while we try and get round these as quick as possible.”

Irfan Ahmed lost two hours of work after hitting a pothole.

‘Glasgow is very bad’

Irfan Ahmed, who has been a taxi driver for six years, said the roads were in the worst state he had ever seen.

He lost two hours of work on Thursday, January 26 after a pothole on Victoria Road left him with a punctured tyre.

“The council don’t bother about fixing anything, they don’t even care,” Mr Ahmed said. “Glasgow is very bad with the potholes – all over Glasgow, it’s not like one road.”

The cabbie won’t be claiming for the repair, believing it’s a “waste of time” because he thinks the council will “make an excuse” to not pay out.

‘No reply is disgraceful’

Derek Mckay hit a pothole on Great Western Road in December 2021, forcing him to abandon his car because he couldn’t get roadside assistance that evening.

Derek Mckay has waited more than a year for a response to his compensation claim.

“All of a sudden there’s this massive thud where the car just dipped, and immediately I realised the tyre had gone,” he said.

“The tyre was totally disintegrated, it was burst at the sides.”

He spent £300 on a roadside callout and tyre repair, but more than a year after putting in a claim for compensation from Glasgow City Council, he’s had no answer.

“To wait longer than a year and still have no reply is utterly disgraceful and it’s just not acceptable, it’s terrible,” Mr Mckay said.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to put people off claiming by saying ‘we’ll be in touch’ and they’re not really – they’re not doing anything about it.

“They’re not escalating it, they’re not accelerating the process or anything so it is frustrating.”

STV News asked Glasgow City Council for a response to both drivers who shared their stories.

A spokesperson said: “We have received a claim from Mr McKay and hope to issue a response to him in the near future.

“It is a matter for individuals [such as Mr Ahmed] if they make a claim. All claims are determined on the individual merits of each case and in the context of our road inspection and repairs policy.”

Asked why the council was not always to blame for pothole damage, Mr Mollon said: “Unfortunately, we can’t be at a particular location 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Potholes can form very quickly and if an inspection is undertaken on a road and then within a week a pothole forms, but we are not due back to inspect that road for another three or four weeks, we are not negligent for that.”