Transport minister opens Arriva Midlands’ new head office and depot

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, NormanBaker, has officially opened Arriva Midlands’ new head officebuilding and depot at Thurmaston, Leicester.

On Wednesday 5 October 2011, Norman Baker MP travelled toThurmaston on an Arriva Midlands bus from the NEC where he hadofficially opened the Bus & Coach Live event; he was met by BobHind, Arriva Midlands regional managing director on arrival atThurmaston.

Arriva Midlands has moved to a 3.3 acre site in Norman Road, andhas invested more than £5 million in the new bespoke buildingthat houses its head office staff along with its operations andengineering teams – a total of 311 employees and 98buses.

The new site boasts modern motion and light-sensitive energyefficient lighting to control and reduce energy consumption. Arainwater harvesting system collects water from the roof and storesit in an 8,000 litre underground storage tank. Water collected isused in the two new bus washes and each bus wash has a full waterrecycling system which recycles around 90 per cent of water used invehicle washing.

The business has invested in an intelligent heat recoveryventilation system throughout the building, using a low energy heatexchanger to replace stale damp air with fresh, filtered anddepending on outside temperatures, warmed air resulting in improveddistribution of clean air and climate control.

In addition Arriva has fitted double glazed solar glass toexternal windows to reduce the amount of heat entering the building– absorbing light and reducing glare helping to reduce theneed for air-conditioning and blinds.

The six metre high acoustic barrier fencing helps to lessen andreflect any noise which may otherwise travel to neighbouringproperties. 

By the end of 2011 a new Authorised Testing Facility (ATF)centre will be up and running at the location to provide thirdparty vehicle testing, steam cleaning and vehicle washing.

Bob Hind, regional managing director of Arriva Midlands, said:“The bespoke design of the new building satisfies operationalneeds, reduces carbon footprint and provides greater costefficiency to accommodate the business in the 21st century. The newsite gives us the opportunity to grow the business by developingour core commercial services, competitive tendering, acquisitions,and diversity. This is a great time for us to be moving up agear.”