ONE of the best-known names in baking is to disappear following the announcement yesterday that the last Carricks Bakery will close with the loss of up to 50 jobs.

The bakery, at Cowgate, in Newcastle, will close following a decision by Greggs, which owns Carricks, to transfer production away from the site.

Greggs said the decision to close the bakery was part of a £2m investment plan designed to improve bakery production and distribution facilities in the region.

The Carricks Bakery at Cowgate employs 105 staff and has been on the present site for the past 50 years.

Staff at the bakery were informed of the closure, planned to take place next September, when they arrived for work yesterday morning.

A Carricks spokesman said it was hoped most of the job losses would be managed through natural wastage.

The spokesman said: "The estimate of 50 jobs to go is a worst case scenario. We are hoping many of the staff will be accommodated in other parts of the Greggs business and we will certainly do all we can to find the rest of the staff secure jobs."

The Carricks name disappeared from high streets in the region after it was bought by Greggs from Allied Bakeries eight years ago. Since then, the bakery at Cowgate has supplied Baker's Oven stores.

The spokesman said the Cowgate site would not support further development.

The spokesman said: "The site is old and in the middle of a residential development so it is not at all suitable for expansion."

Production from Carricks will be transferred to Greggs bakery at Gosforth, in Newcastle.

North-East company Greggs, which employs 3,000 people in the region, said consultation on the proposals would begin immediately and all affected employees would be involved in discussions with management.

A spokesperson for Greggs said: "We very much regret the need to close Carricks Bakery. This in no way reflects on the loyalty or hard work of our employees there. The proposal is necessary to ensure our shops can be even more efficiently served in the future and to help deliver our ambitious expansion plans in the North East.