Sadness as final stage of Chester Le Street bus depot demolition begin

The Go North East depot in Chester-le-Street closed for the final time in September 2022 after serving County Durham since before the first World War.

The depot, which first opened back in 1912 and was the company's first, employed more than 170 drivers and staff while dozens of routes were based there.

Read more: Demolition work begins at former Go North East Chester-le-Street depot

But demolition workers have been spotted taking on the final stages of the demolition - sparking shock and sadness among the local community.  have now moved in at the mothballed site after it hit the market last month.

In photos, big fences and bulldozers have been spotted on the site taking down the last few buildings.

In August 2022, a compensatory package of £2,250 to existing drivers and a severance package for those nearing retirement was approved (Image: WILLIAM WHITEHEAD)

The Echo reported in March this year how the 2.1 acre site went up for sale welcoming offers in excess of £1.95m. ‘For Sale’ signs are still in place around the building.

At the time, the firm blamed the "financial challenges" brought on by the pandemic, changes to the economy and a recent pay claim from the union.

The former bus depot stood in the town for 110 years (Image: WILLIAM WHITEHEAD)

But the news did not go down well and the firm suffered immense backlash from its workers, politicians, businesses in the town and residents.

As a result, drivers and the Unite union clubbed together to campaign to keep it open, threatening strike action unless the firm reversed its decision - or compensated drivers.

In August 2022, a compensatory package of £2,250 to existing drivers and a severance package for those nearing retirement was approved.

At the time a spokesperson said: “As has been reported in the local media, our Chester-le-Street depot will sadly close from September with all routes relocating to other depots.

“This is following our recent service changes, adapting to reduced use of bus services in some areas following changes to the way people work, shop and socialise.

“The change also helps us manage the impact of rising costs and protects vital local services for customers who rely on public transport, recognising that it’s crucial to continue to offer a bus network that delivers for customers as the cost of driving becomes more expensive.

“We understand how attached colleagues are to the depot and to each other, however, we are a substantially smaller business now following the pandemic.

“We must therefore downsize the number of depots across the company, and reduce our overheads, to recover from our current loss-making position – this change is a major part of that recovery plan.”