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Malvern Depot

Portland Road, Malvern

• Portland Road site leased by W. & B. Woodyatt Limited.
  W. & B. Woodyatt Limited operated a number of coach tours from Malvern.  Their Portland Road site had a capacity for eight vehicles.
• Business of W. & B. Woodyatt Limited passed to Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO — Midland “Red”) on 17^th May 1929.
• Operated by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO — Midland “Red”) from January 1930, as an outstation or “dormy garage” of Worcester depot, with an initial allocation of three vehicles.
• Allocation of 16 vehicles by 1954.
• Site closed in September 1954, all vehicles and operations transferred to a new purpose built site at Spring Lane.
• Site passed to the General Post Office.

Spring Lane, Malvern

• Depot purpose built by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO — Midland “Red”) to replace the garage at Portland Road 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 16^th August 1954, and officially opened on 10^th September 1954 by the Chairman of the Malvern Urban District Council.  Initial allocation was 21 vehicles.
• One-man operation introduced at Malvern depot on 2^nd 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.
• Site used by the Southern Division Body Department for repairs and overhauls from 28^th May 1971, following the closure of the East Street site of Worcester depot.
• Company renamed to Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited (MROC) on 29^th 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 on Friday 1^st October 1976.
  All local Malvern “M” services are withdrawn, and an entirely new network of services are introduced in the Malvern area, operated by Worcester depot.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.
• 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 23^rd January 2006.
• Site occupied by Focus D.I.Y. store, opening on 6^th September 2006.