Glasgow's Drain Maintenance 'Scandal' Exposed as Council Admits to Paper-Based Records
Local authority slammed for using outdated record-keeping system that leaves streets flooded and accountability lacking
EXCLUSIVE by Gary Fanning
Glasgow City Council’s drain maintenance system has been branded a “scandalous waste of public money” after it emerged that records are kept entirely on paper, making it impossible to track which drains have been checked.
Dennistoun man Frank Plowright has long raised concerns about drainage issues in the area, with complaints being met with assurances that non-emergency problems would be addressed through “regular maintenance programmes.”
However, his investigation has revealed significant inconsistencies and a lack of transparency in how maintenance is carried out.
A spreadsheet supplied to him highlighted gaps in drain maintenance, with some streets appearing to have all drains checked while others—such as Firpark Terrace and Kennyhill Square—had none inspected at all.
In some cases, more drains were reportedly serviced than physically exist on certain streets.
Mr Plowright’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request seeking clarity on when uninspected drains would be attended to was met with a vague response, offering no clear timeframe.
His follow-up FOI request for specific details of missed drains was refused on the basis that compiling such information would take too much time.
An appeal against this decision uncovered a startling admission: the council has no digital records of drainage maintenance, relying instead on handwritten notes.
A council spokesperson stated that they are "currently looking into upgrading the existing paper-based system" to incorporate historical records, but critics argue that a simple spreadsheet could resolve many of the inefficiencies.
The Splash understands the council are rolling out the use of hand held devices to their frontline staff to record work they do.
However, the roll-out hasn’t reached the team that undertake gully cleaning.
The records they do keep are entered into a spread sheet which is then stored digitally.
Mr Plowright ha expressed frustration at what he sees as a lack of accountability and mismanagement of public funds, particularly as council tax has risen by 7.5% this year.
He said: “The drainage maintenance team might as well be flushing that money away every year.”
A spokesman for the council said: “We have an on-going programme to clear and maintain the city's 75,000 roadside gullies.
“The programme has supported a reduction in flood reports, which has improved accessibility and helped to keep local environments in good condition.
“Alongside gully cleaning, we also undertake deep clean works, which involve street sweeping, weed removal, de-littering and collecting leaves in autumn.
“Gullies are also inspected during cleaning work and where we find they are damaged, have underground blockages or broken pipe work they will be included in our risk-assessed follow up programme.
“A major challenge facing the gully cleaning programme is parked cars that block access to the gullies.
“Temporary no parking notices are put in place to support gully cleaning operations, notices are posted, signage set-up and no parking cones are laid out in advance of gully cleaning going ahead.
“Our staff neighbourhoods staff engage with community councils and residents groups so they can also share information about the programme with their local contacts.
“Parking attendants will issues fines against vehicles that remain in these temporary no parking zones and car lifters are regularly deployed to move cars that prevent access to gullies to be targeted in the cleaning programme.
“It is absolutely crucial that drivers move their vehicles to allow gully cleaning to go ahead as many gullies will not be cleared as intended due to parked cars.
“Unfortunately we were unable to access gullies on Firpark Terrace and Kennyhill Square due to parked cars, despite visiting these streets on two separate occasions.”
Campaigners are now calling for urgent reforms to the city’s drain maintenance system, demanding digital record-keeping and greater transparency in how public funds are used to address essential infrastructure issues.
The response from the council is utterly unbelievable. It's like we are doing a great job - and we will produce a piece of paper to prove it! There is an area on Baillieston Road, a few yards from the Culzean Drive junction with a blocked drain, which sits above a stream a few yards away.
Following heavy rainfall, flooding regularly extends across the entire road. This has been an issue for the past forty years. No doubt there is a piece of paper lying somewhere stating that this drain is cleared every few months? Never happened!
Pinocchio appears to be working at GCC. Our Community Council has been asking about gulley cleaning and deep cleaning for several years now and have been told it will be done. We have a pond on Argyle Street at Kelvingrove Street every time it rains and have been told to ask for "special" funding to fix it. This Council needs to get its services sorted out. A Council Tax strike would not be a good thing for the city, but why should people pay for non existent services? The situation would be called a "scam" if it took place in the private sector...