Friday March 6th 2026
Photo by Igor Myzik (Unsplash)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
Extra workers will be recruited as part of efforts to tackle the “causes of flooding” in many Glasgow communities.
Almost £3m is being spent on improving gully cleaning and repairing drains across the city. The investment was announced in Glasgow City Council’s budget for 2026/27.
Blocked drains, particularly during periods of heavy rain, have previously sparked calls for more preventative action. A council spokesman said the funding will allow a “more proactive” approach.
A gully is a drain cover, frame and pot which collects road surface water. There are around 75,000 road gullies across Glasgow, which are cleaned by the council on a “risk and cyclic basis”.
While the number of new staff is currently unknown, the council intends to invest £1.4m in tripling the service for gully cleaning on “priority neighbourhood and arterial routes in the city”.
There is also a plan to spend £500,000 on two new gully wagons and £1m on a drain repairs scheme, which will see additional gullies and replacement of broken pipes or gully pots. Budget papers stated this would “address root causes of flooding”.
A council spokesman said: “This additional funding will allow us to increase our proactive gully cleaning programme within the city’s neighbourhoods.
“The investment will also cover the purchase of new fleet, recruitment of additional staff and the increasing costs for waste disposal.
“A more proactive approach will allow issues in the gully network to be identified more quickly for repair or replacement, if necessary.
“We will take a risk-based approach to our gully programme so we prioritise the most significant issues for repair.”
During his budget speech, city treasurer Ricky Bell, SNP, said: “We are investing £3m in both revenue and capital to triple the number of gully cleaning cycles and carry out drain repairs, tackling the causes of flooding in many communities.”
He added: “We are maintaining and increasing the £7m invested last year in frontline neighbourhood services. And we’re investing in additional neighbourhood clean teams — two more per sector — will ensure quick responses when issues emerge.
“I know the difference this has made in my own ward, and residents across Glasgow are seeing similar improvements.”
Six new neighbourhood clean teams are expected to be created, costing £715,000.
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