Transport Minister opens Arriva Midlands brand new Shrewsbury Bus Depot.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker officially opened Arriva Midlands brand new Shrewsbury Bus Depot, based at Harlescott Lane, Shrewsbury, SY1 4AL on Thursday 19 July 2012 at 10.30am.

Norman Baker MP travelled with Arriva Trains Wales to Shrewsbury Railway Station, Bob Hind; Arriva Midlands Regional Managing Director met him on arrival at Shrewsbury Railway Station and travelled with him to the new depot.

Arriva Midlands has moved onto a 2.2 acre site and has invested over £2.5 million in the new bespoke building that houses its operations and engineering teams – a total of 116 employees and 48 buses. A 52 week build programme was achieved on target.

The new site boasts modern motion and light-sensitive energy efficient lighting to control and reduce energy.

A rainwater harvesting system collects water from the roof and stores it in an 80,000 litre underground storage tank. Water collected is used in the two new bus washes and each bus wash has a full water recycling system which recycles around 90% of water used in vehicle washing.

We have invested in an intelligent heat recovery ventilation system throughout the building, using a low energy heat exchanger to replace stale damp air with fresh, filtered and depending on outside temperatures, warmed air resulting in improved distribution of clean air and climate control.

Green roof technology arrives at Shrewsbury, with its bus wash recycling building supporting an ‘eco’ roof system – covered by grass and vegetation on a waterproof membrane. Incorporating natural drainage, filtration and irrigation, at the same time extending the life span of the roof and helping to reduce urban heat. It also provides thermal and sound insulation and a habitat for wildlife.

By the end of 2012 the new ATF Centre will be up and running to provide third party vehicle testing, steam cleaning and vehicle washing.

Bob Hind, Regional Managing Director of Arriva Midlands said: “The bespoke design of the new building satisfies operational needs, reduces carbon footprint and provides greater cost efficiency to accommodate the business in the 21st century. The new site gives us the opportunity to grow the business by developing our core commercial services, competitive tendering, acquisitions, and diversity. This is a great time for us to be moving up a gear.”

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “The opening of Arriva’s new state-of-the-art depot is great news for Shrewsbury. This new depot will allow Arriva to deliver better services for bus passengers in the area, with more of the facilities that we know passengers want.”

Shropshire Councillors Keith Barrow, leader and Simon Jones, Cabinet member for transport, said: “We would like to congratulate Arriva on the opening of their new garage. Arriva have been a strong and effective partner over many years and continue to improve service quality and coverage across Shrewsbury and the rest of the county.”