Nottingham City Transport (NCT) commemorated the closure of the former South Notts Bus Company depot at Gotham on 27 March. It has been shuttered as part of a post-COVID-19 recovery plan and a need to save costs, NCT says.
Gotham depot was opened 95 years ago. in March 1926. NCT purchased South Notts in March 1991. Buses and staff have moved to NCT’s Trent Bridge operating centre in Nottingham. The South Notts name will be retained, as will its service between Loughborough and Nottingham.
To commemorate the Gotham site’s history, the last new bus purchased by South Notts prior to its takeover by NCT visited on the depot’s last operational day. The Leyland Olympian with Northern Counties bodywork is part of a fleet owned by the Nottingham Heritage Vehicles Charity alongside other former NCT and South Notts vehicles.
In addition, NCT Commercial and Operations Director David Astill donated a number of original South Notts deeds and documents to Peter Hammond of Nottinghamshire Archives. Mr Hammond is a former South Notts employee.
Says Mr Astill: “We are sad to be leaving Gotham garage and we pay tribute and give thanks to everyone who has played a part in its long, successful time as a bus depot. South Notts remains an important part of Nottingham City Transport and the name will continue to be proudly displayed on buses on the route.”
Also moving to NCT’s Trent Bridge depot from Gotham will be a clock, memorial benches, a timeline and a South Notts sign from the front of the garage building. NCT says that decision has been taken to honour the heritage of South Notts and to “retain a link for our employees to recognise and remember their time at Gotham and South Notts.”
A commemorative book celebrating 95 years of Gotham depot will be published in April.
