Friday September 4th 2026
Broomhouse residents and local politicians on Hamilton Road
Written by Glasgow View Reporter, Liam Eunson and Local Democracy Reporter, Sarah Hilley
New road measures to help lessen the impact of thousands of HGVs in Glasgow’s east end have been agreed following local residents launching an urgent public campaign against the council after ‘15 years of failed action on Hamilton Road’ that has reportedly led to destroyed roads, cracked homes and affected local wellbeing.
Highlighting that city planning has ‘dropped the ball with the overburdening of a residential road by turning it into a rat run’, Broomhouse Community Council have endured a long lasting battle to prevent HGV traffic down Hamilton Road that has caused many issues with local residents.
Hamilton Road in Broomhouse, between Blackbear to Mount Vernon Train Station, is home to houses, flats and restaurants. Connected to Greenoakhill Quarry, the single lane road is used daily by large trucks to transport waste.
Ran by multiple million pound organisation Patersons Quarries Ltd, the quarry was set to shut years ago leading to influx in population into the area, but the landfill ultimately did not shut.
After a meeting over concerns last week, Glasgow City Council has vowed to install a new pedestrian crossing with electronic speed signs, resurface the road and add bus shelters among other changes. Other changes will see gullies checked, more street cleaning and speed surveys taking place.
Broomhouse Community Council member Jennifer Smith said residents are “delighted with the actions that have been agreed, adding; “We will continue to campaign and push for more change.”
Jennifer said the long term goal is to reduce the number of HGVs on the road as heavy vehicles are causing homes to vibrate.
Patterson’s Greenoakhill landfill and quarry generates a lot of traffic and it operates 363 days a year according to the local resident. She added: “The road can’t withstand that amount of traffic.”
Highlighting the meeting as a success, the community council explained:
“On the back of the campaign website, petition and the years of hard work pushing for action it’s great news that the community’s concerns are now being taken seriously by Glasgow City Council.
“At the meeting last week with the heads of key council departments, some really positive actions were agreed which is encouraging and progress in the right direction. We are keen to build on this with further discussions on the most fundamental issue which is the volume of HGVs using this road and the impact of this on Broomhouse and residents wellbeing.”
Despite improvements agreed, residents are still fighting for change with the ultimate goal being to stop the HGV traffic on Hamilton Road and re-route it to a nearby dual carriageway. Hamilton Road is an A road, meaning it is suitable for large vehicle traffic but the Broomhouse Community Council are fighting to have this changed to a B road.
Dad Jonathan Drake said: “My house is shaking and it is affecting us.”
He said there are concerns over children walking along the road, adding: “We see the dust on the road.”
He is supportive of the landfill site coming to an end to make Broomhouse a “better place to live.”
Another resident on Hamilton Road, Craig Rae, highlighted the meeting as not as effective as it should have been, explaining:
“I welcome the positive commitments that were made last week by Glasgow council, but I came away from the meeting feeling that the Council still does not fully appreciate the scale of the problem facing Hamilton Road. The excessive HGV traffic, and the noise and vibration that comes with it, are the issues that residents are most concerned about — yet these were not properly addressed.
“Nobody is suggesting that better signage, road repairs or improved bus shelters are unwelcome. They are all positive developments. But they don’t deal with the fundamental problem. Residents are having to live with large numbers of heavy goods vehicles passing their homes everyday, generating significant levels of noise and road-borne vibration.
“What was disappointing was the sense that the severity of these problems was being questioned or minimised, rather than properly acknowledged. Residents know what they experience in their own homes every day, and we believe the Council needs to take that experience seriously.
“Residents now want to see the Council properly investigate the HGV problem and acknowledge the very real impact that the traffic, noise and vibration are having on people who live here.”
Broomhouse Community Council members and local residents at last week's meeting at Glasgow's City Chambers. Back row L to R- Amin Shaikh, Craig Rae, Jennifer Smith, Sarah Rose Graber. Front Row L to R- Councillor John Daly, MP John Grady, Councillor Kevin Lalley, and the Chief of Staff for MSP David Linden- Graeme Sneddon
A Glasgow Council spokesperson told the Glasgow View that they are engaging with the local community to ‘explore other options for improving the road network’, they added:
“Hamilton Road at Broomhouse is an A-class distributor road that connects to the M74 and is suitable for all types of vehicle.
“The road carries around 10,000 vehicles per day and given its role in the network, traffic calming measures such as speed bumps are generally unsuitable for this kind of road.
“The lay-out of the road with cycle lanes and central, hatched markings can help reduce traffic speeds.
“A substantial section of Hamilton Road between the junction with London Road and Daldowie Road has recently been resurfaced and relined. Other sections of Hamilton Road will be kept under assessment.”
Back when the campaigning began 15 years ago, local residents were told that the quarry was closing but this was not the case. Years later, the quarry is reportedly closing after the last fell is filled which may still be some time away, causing more damage and issues to Hamilton Road.
Community Council member Sarah Jane Graber explained to the Glasgow View that she is ‘shocked at how our own council tax is paying to fix a problem primarily caused by a multi-million pound private company’, adding:
“With the council struggling to cover their own bills, why aren’t Patersons of Greenoakhill, a multi-million pound private company, being footed with the bill? They are directly responsible for most of the HGV traffic breaking this residential road and negatively impacting the daily life of residents. It’s genuinely outrageous that our council tax money alone would fix destruction caused by the wealthy company who created the problem in the first place.”
With a petition in support of bringing about change having over 400 signatures , the campaign has also received support from politicians including the local MP John Grady.
He explained that he is pleased to support the community council and residents of Broomhouse, highlighting that the Glasgow Council’s agreed action is ‘good news for people in Broomhouse’.
He said: “There are encouraging signs the council is acting on the community’s concerns but we need delivery.
“It is heartbreaking to see kids unable to sleep and getting disturbed by the volume of traffic.”
Also gaining support from MSP for Glasgow Ballieston and Shettleston David Linden, he explained:
“Residents in Broomhouse have been badly affected by the thundering of HGV traffic along Hamilton Road. The condition of the road has worsened over time and residents are rightly fed up with the noise and dust from these vehicles, which makes their lives miserable.
“I note that Glasgow City Council have promised significant improvements to Hamilton Road. It is particularly welcome that they have prioritised further resurfacing, a new traffic survey, increased road cleaning and gulley inspections. I hope those changes deliver a noticeable difference for residents on Hamilton Road.
“I commend Broomhouse Community Council on their hard-fought campaign to fix Hamilton Road. I will also be holding Paterson’s to account for their activities at the Greenoakhill site off Hamilton Road, making sure that they start to wind down operations to reduce the volume of HGV traffic and ultimately make Hamilton Road a much nicer place to live.”
Councillor John Daly, Conservative, said: “It is so important to get senior (council) officers out talking to the community so they can see the impact of budget cuts on our communities.”
Councillor Kevin Lalley added: “It was great to host a meeting with senior officials from GCC and members of our community, and the commitment made by the officers is very welcome. We will continue to ask further questions on long term solutions and its great news that GCC have welcomed future discussions with residents.”
With Broomhouse highlighted by the council as an area for development and planning, residents and members of the community council are hoping that last week’s meeting leads to more change and further attention on the issue that is affecting many local lives.
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