Potholes in Glasgow are 'getting worse' says community group founder

Jamie Canavan created the online community for people to flag issues with roads, share advice and put pressure on Glasgow City Council.

The Facebook group, recently renamed Potholes Make Glasgow, has more than 6000 members and shows no signs of slowing down.

The 31-year-old said: “The group’s size is ever-increasing. I have also noticed that the roads are getting a lot worse nowadays.

“Some of the potholes on the road I don’t even want to call potholes anymore – they are trenches. The damage they cause is just crazy. They are massive.

“I am on it throughout the day and I use it as a map to try and avoid the potholes.

“They seem to be a lot worse from when we first started the group."

READ MORE: Pothole damage compensation pay outs in Glasgow revealed

Member John Steven joined after he burst two tires under the railway bridge in Tradeston, at the end of last October.

He described feeling a "massive thud" but it seemed like everything was okay, until the next day.

The 45-year-old, who grew up in East Kilbride, said: "We pulled over and when I inspected the car, both the front and rear wheels on the driver's side were completely blown out.

"Two massive bulges have basically broken the wall on the tires.

"We were basically stranded, we needed to get back to Northamptonshire."

After paying a £504 bill, he was able to return to England, where he now lives.

Mr Steven is currently waiting for a response to his claim from Glasgow City Council.

He joined the online community to seek support, where he found out that other people have suffered damage after driving over that same hole before.

Pothole in the East End (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Pothole in the East End (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

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The Facebook group was launched in 2021, after Mr Canavan, from Shettleston, hit a pothole in Renfrewshire and failed to claim compensation.

Since then, people have been discussing pothole-related issues and posting pictures.

The founder feels that amid a cost-of-living crisis, it's more important than ever to address the complaints.

He said: “The price of everything is increasing, I feel as if the council has a duty of care, they are responsible for the roads we all use.

“We all pay into the pot, whether it be council tax or road tax, but if someone damages their car on the road, they are not getting much back.

“When you put a claim in, the council usually just rejects it.

“People are working hard to get by. I feel as if all these holes should not be here in Glasgow in 2023.

“We work hard and people are spending hundreds if not thousands in repair bills.

“I feel as if they are getting worse and not better at all."

This comes after the Glasgow Times previously revealed that over the last three years, the council paid compensation to just 1.2% of all submitted claims.

In this time period, 3537 claims were lodged from drivers who had hit a pothole and only 45 were accepted.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “Potholes can appear suddenly at any time and can be caused by factors such as heavy rain or flooding, ice, snow and the impact of traffic on the road surface.

“Winter is always a challenging time for road conditions due to the effects of the weather.

“During December, Glasgow experienced its lowest road surface temperatures in 12 years followed by long periods of rainfall, which is a damaging combination for road surfaces.

“Our responsibility is to ensure we have in place an appropriate system of road safety inspections and repairs that tackles the most dangerous faults as a matter of priority.

“We always seek to undertake first-time permanent repairs wherever possible, but modern materials can provide an immediate and durable solution when necessary.

“The roads network is inspected on an ongoing basis but we urge people to report any road faults to us directly so they can be properly assessed and included in an appropriate repair programme.

“We are currently deploying additional resources to deal with the impact of this winter’s weather on the roads network.

“All claims are determined on the individual merits of each and in the context of our road safety inspection and repairs policy, which is based upon national guidance.”

In respect of Mr Steven’s claim, a spokesperson said: “A claim has been received from Mr Steven and it is currently being investigated. A decision on the claim will be made as soon as possible.”