On opening the garage took over Hackney's operation of Red Arrow routes 502 and 513 using brand new Leyland Nationals which had been stored at the garage, and also the entire Hackney and Dalston allocations. Unfortunately, Ash Grove found itself in the London Forest operation, and also had a reputation for staff militancy and closed in 1991. The garage was reopened in 1994 by Kentish Bus to operate their Leyton area route gains, although they referred to it as Cambridge Heath. It was also used over the years to house stored vehicles for the London Transport Museum, and again in 2000 to store additional AEC Routemasters that had been acquired to supplement shortages in London.