THE Muller Road bus depot, one of the oldest in Bristol, is closing this weekend.

Almost 230 staff employed at the site, including 186 drivers, will be relocated to other depots run by First in Hengrove and Lawrence Hill from tomorrow.

Fewer than 10 staff have been made redundant.

First says none of its 100 bus services around the region will be affected by the closure, and routes starting and finishing at the Horfield depot will be unaffected by the changes.

There will be no new depot to replace it, as First said one was not needed.

The Muller Road depot is owned by Bristol City Council and is leased to the bus operator.

The building has serious problems, including subsidence, and it will now be used to store buses not in use.

It will no longer be used for maintenance, cleaning or by crews.

There are question marks over the future of the site, but the land is protected for industrial or warehousing use.

First spokeswoman Karen Baxter said the depot was being closed to ensure that operating costs were kept as low as possible.

Refurbishing the Muller Road site would cost more than £100,000.

Ms Baxter said: "There was one compulsory redundancy and less than 10 voluntary redundancies.

"All the drivers are transferring to other depots, and our teams will be on hand to support them over the weekend as they ease into their new depots.

"We are actually recruiting drivers for our Hengrove depot.

"There won't be a new depot to replace Muller Road as it is not needed."

But David Redgewell, a spokesman for umbrella group South West Transport Network, said a new depot was vital to support the increasing number of passengers on Bristol's buses.

He said: "If bus passengers grow and we get more people using buses, as is planned, we need to make sure we have adequate facilities in the city."