By William Mata
Arriva’s new Tunbridge Wells bus depot will officially open on May 27, the company has confirmed.
The garage in Kingstanding Way in North Farm replaces the former one in St John’s Road, which closed last October after 80 years of service.
Since then, buses have been temporarily based in Cannon Lane in Tonbridge.
The Kingstanding Way depot is built on the site of a former technical college and will create room for 80 buses and seven maintenance bays.
An Arriva spokesman said the project is a ‘multimillion pound investment’ but could not confirm the complete cost.
A family fun day will be held on May 27 at the depot to mark it officially open.
Lauren Edmonds from Arriva Southern Counties said: “It’s fantastic that we’re ready to move our engineering teams in at the new depot and we’re expecting everything to be fully operational by the spring.
“The new site will be a great addition and will serve to help us deliver the best possible service for customers in the area.
“We hope those in the region will join us to celebrate the opening with fun and games for all the family.”
Engineering teams are already setting up the Kingstanding Way site.
Oliver Monahan, Area Managing Director for Arriva, added: “We move with a mixture of sadness and excitement.
“There is sadness that we leave the old garage and excitement at the prospect of having a new, modern and purpose built depot to serve routes across West Kent.”
Developer PegasusLife has confirmed plans to convert the former St John’s depot into 94 residential units with a self-contained swimming pool and gym.
This follows a sale agreement between PegasusLife and Arriva, struck in October 2016.
