Glasgow City Council has been criticised after two pavements were torn up to be redone -  after only three years.

West End residents and business owners told of their frustration as the decision created even more noise and accessibility problems on Church Street and Byres Road, where construction has been ongoing for some time. 

Glasgow Times: Roadworks on Church Street, GlasgowRoadworks on Church Street, Glasgow (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

One local said: "Workers came along and started to dig it up.

"There is a lot of noise. This is not welcomed because there has already been noise from roadworks which has been ongoing since January.  

"It's unnecessary. There was absolutely no need for them to dig this up where the University of Glasgow has already put down the same materials to the specifications of the council.

"It's beyond a joke that they are spending a fortune ripping it apart, only to relay it."

Glasgow Times:

The university has confirmed that they laid the paths near the rear of the Advanced Research Centre between 2019 and 2020.

A spokesperson said that this was "all consented by Glasgow City Council and carried out in accordance with the approved drawings".

Since then the local authority has changed the design and contractor MacLay Civil Engineering has begun to break apart the existing pavement and bricks.

A council spokesperson said the upgrade will "will enhance pedestrian safety".

Byres Road businesses explained that the ongoing development has been impacting their footfall since the start of construction.

Glasgow Times:

Austin MacPherson, 32, barber, said: "A few weeks ago we couldn't even get in the shop, we had to be let in by the workers.

"Ideally, it would be great if they could finish as soon as possible.

"If they are restarting, that will take a lot longer and they have already taken a lot longer to get to where they are.

"I think there might be a communication problem.

"There are a lot of shops that have closed since the work started."

Glasgow Times:

Scott Richardson, 31, of Graham's Auto Centre, previously featured in the Glasgow Times in May, when he claimed their once-thriving shop was struggling to survive due to the works.

Now, he said: "We have had an ongoing fight with them.

"This whole rejig really killed it for us. Thanks for the paper's help, we ended up with this loading bay, which wasn't part of the plan.

"The works themselves have really affected business. Only in the last four weeks, since they have moved further up, have we started seeing an uptake in business again.

"Our issues were the lack of access and noise. It changed people's perception of Byres Road. Everybody avoided it.

"My grandfather bought this shop 70 years ago and if he hadn't, there is no way I would still be here."

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: "The City Deal Byres Road Phase One works will further upgrade the pedestrian crossing point on this part of the new signalised junction to a controlled crossing, improving pedestrian safety.  

"This work requires the replacement of the silver-grey granite tactile slabs with red tactile slabs in the immediate vicinity of the access road and minor kerb line realignment works at the footway on the north side of the access road."