Yeovil bus depot set to be demolished, says First Bus

The depot is set to be demolished in the coming months

A town bus depot is set to be demolished.

First Bus is selling the site in Reckleford, Yeovil, where vehicle maintenance and cleaning takes place.

It says inflationary pressures and low passenger numbers are causing challenges which are affecting the sustainability of the business.

The news comes two weeks after First Bus announced the closure of its Bridgwater depot, as part of changes to bus services across Somerset.

Although the company has assured people that services will be unaffected by the demolition, the RMT union said not everyone is convinced.

Barry West, south west regional organiser for the union, said: "There are many aspects that people are concerned about.

"I've heard nothing but complaints from many people about what happened in Bridgwater, so if you use that as a template that's a likelihood that could happen in Yeovil.

"There needs to be a meaningful consultation that we can be involved in and engaged in so we can understand it better."

Simon Goff, managing director of First Bus South, said previous attempts to sell the building in its current state had failed, so the company had decided to demolish it to help the sale.

"Following the transfer of some Yeovil routes to First Bus' neighbouring West and Wales business, buses of Somerset's Yeovil operations have reduced significantly from 43 buses to nine, making the current depot too large and not fit for purpose," he said.

"There will not be any impact to our customers or services, which will continue to operate as normal," added Mr Goff.