It would never happen due to Deptford being reasonably new, but it would have made more sense Washington merging with them somewhere in the middle.
If Washington was to move to Drum, the dead mileage for routes starting/ending at Heworth or South Tyneside would be massive.
Similar but not as big as some of the Stanley routes working from Consett.
If the move was to ever come off, then the depot route allocation would need to be looked at.
I dont know the full ins and outs of the depot move to Drum falling through, but I believe there were concerns with access/safety prior to the roundabout being constructed on the A693. Whether that was enough for the move to collapse or there were other issues, I dont know.
RE: Go North East