Depots and Garages in Malvern
Spring Lane depot, Malvern Link (depot code: MN)
- Depot purpose built by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) to replace the Portland Road garage, which was too small. Vehicle capacity was for 30 vehicles accommodated indoors, with additional outdoor parking at the front and rear.
- Site occupied on Monday 16th August 1954, and officially opened on Friday 10th September 1954 by the Chairman of the Malvern Urban District Council. Initial allocation was 21 vehicles.
- Three BMMO D7 double-deck buses (fleet numbers 4079, 4092 and 4095) allocated to Malvern depot from September 1954 for use on Service 144, starting on Monday 6th September 1954. From this time, Malvern depot would always have an allocation of three or four double-deck buses for use on this service, but never used double-deck buses on any other route.
- Following the opening of the new depot, a number of local Malvern services are improved from Saturday 10th December 1955, with new departure points and improved service frequencies. Certain routes were also changed or extended at this time.
- Verometer ticket machines replaced by Setright Speed machines at Malvern depot during April 1957.
- Malvern Link Booking and Enquiry Office is closed in August 1961 with all business moved to Spring Lane depot.
- The three double-deck allocation replaced by BMMO D9 class from December 1961. A fourth BMMO D9 (fleet number 4894) was moved to Malvern depot from Bromsgrove depot in April 1967 to cover some of Bromsgrove’s Service 144 work, as the garage was struggling with staff shortages. This was a temporary arraignment and the Malvern double-deck allocation had returned to three within about a year.
- One-man operation introduced at Malvern depot for the first time on Saturday 2nd May 1970, on most local services and Service 477. The terminus for local services M16, M32, M33, M42 & M52 moved from the Post Office on Abbey Road to Belle Vue Terrace on Worcester Road so that one-man vehicles did not need to make the difficult climb up Church Street, and exit the blind junction at the top (which had previously required the conductor to guide the vehicle out).
- Site used by the Southern Division Body Department for repairs and overhauls from Friday 28th May 1971, following the closure of the East Street site of Worcester depot.
- Company renamed to Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited (MROC) on Friday 29th March 1974, with a depot allocation of 20 vehicles and approximately 74 staff at this time.
- Malvern depot scheduled for closure at the end of January 1976. Midland Red placed the blame with the County Council who had refused increase subsidies in September 1975.
- Midland Red’s Travel Centre in Malvern Town is closed in March 1976, and business transferred to Malvern depot at Spring Lane.
- Southern Division Body Department transferred to Bromsgrove depot in September 1976.
- Malvern depot closed after the end of services on Friday 1st October 1976. All local Malvern ‘M’-prefix services are withdrawn and an entirely new network of services are introduced in the Malvern area, operated by Worcester (Padmore Street) depot. At the time of closure, 65 staff were employed at Malvern depot and all were offered transfers to other depots but many chose to take redundancy. Five single-deck vehicles transferred to Worcester depot immediately, with the remainder being dispersed slowly over the following weeks.
(See Service 408, Service 409, Service 410, Service 412, Service 413, and Service 478 for details of the new local Malvern service network.)
- Building used as a Kwik-Save supermarket from December 1977.
- Demolished and replaced by a larger Kwik-Save supermarket in the 1990s.
- Site vacant following the closure of Kwik-Save on Monday 23rd January 2006.
- Site occupied by Focus D.I.Y. store, opening on Wednesday 6th September 2006.
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