It is the end of an era as a Go North East bus depot that has been serving County Durham for more than 100 years will finally shut today.
Staff at the depot on Picktree Lane in Chester-le-Street will clock on for the last time before the site officially closes to services buses tonight.
The depot, which was first opened back in 1912 and the company's first, employed more than 170 drivers and staff while dozens of routes were based there.
Read more: Go North East Chester-le-Street strikes are off but depot will close
This included the Angel 21 between Newcastle, Durham and Brandon, and the X21 between Newcastle, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland.
Last night, workers paid tribute to the depot as they said "goodbye" as colleagues prepared to clock in for the last time.
One said: "It's been an amazing place to work, we have all been like a family and have stayed together for as long as we can.
"Everybody is sad to see it go and it is a massive loss for the town. All I can say is goodbye Chester-le-Street."
Earlier this year, Go North East confirmed the closure of the depot after The Northern Echo revealed there had been rumours among the workforce that it would shut.
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.
Read more: Leaked letter to Go North East staff reveal more details of bus depot closure
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 Unite the Union clubbed together to campaign to keep it open, threatening strike action unless the firm reverses its decision - or compensates drivers.
Last month, a compensatory package of £2,250 to existing drivers and a severance package for those nearing retirement was approved.
At the time, Mark Sanderson, Unite regional coordinating officer, said: “Despite the objections of the union and its members and the local community, Go North East is determined to press ahead with its damaging plans to close the Chester-le-Street depot.
“Following lengthy negotiations, the staff at the Chester-le-Street depot have accepted a beneficial severance package for those workers who want to leave their employment and a compensatory scheme for those moving to other workplaces.”
Go North East previously blamed financial challenges including the pandemic, a pay claim amid the cost of living crisis and also the cost to keep the "aging" building reopen.
It also said that the decision had been "extremely difficult" and that it acknowledged the relationship the workforce had developed with the depot.
They previously said: "As has been reported in the local media, our Chester-le-Street depot will sadly be closing 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."
It also previously said: "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.
"There are no job losses to our driver and engineering workshop colleagues as part of this closure."
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