The first Greenway appeared in late 1991. It was conceived by London & Country, which at the time was part of the Drawlane Group, which owned East Lancs. L&C began a co-operative venture with East Lancs. The idea was to give some of the Leyland Nationals, of which L&C still had quite a few, a mid-life rebuild. The engineering work was carried out by L&C at Reigate, then the buses were sent to Blackburn for the replacement bodywork. Soon East Lancs made the project widespread. Many operators were in the same situation as London & Country. Since the Leyland National had an advanced integral structure which generally remained sound, it was decided that rebuilding was a cost effective option for them. The project lasted about four years, with the last of about 176 Greenways entering service ea