First Bus

Year Founded: 1995
Headquarter Location: 395 King Street, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB24 5RP
Industry: Transport
Website: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/
Company Profile: First Bus is one of the largest bus operators in the United Kingdom and a division of FirstGroup. The company provides local and regional bus services across major urban centres including Portsmouth, Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds and London, helping connect communities and support local economies. Operating a fleet of several thousand vehicles from around 70 depots, First Bus carries over 1.5 million passengers each day and serves more than 25% of the UK population through its regional and London bus networks. The company works closely with local authorities to deliver commercial and contracted bus services, as well as additional transport solutions such as school services, park-and-ride operations, airport transfers and private hire.

Hughes and Salvidge were appointed Principal Contractor for the demolition of the former Print Works site in Portsmouth. The 22-week project involved the isolation of incoming services, R&D surveys, asbestos removal, demolition of all structures above and below ground, removal of obstructions to 1.5m, pile cropping, and crushing of demolition arisings to 6F2 for reuse.

Key heritage and environmental assets were retained, including the triple monolith monument, the ‘NEWS’ wall-mounted mosaics, the front pond, and surrounding trees. The project also included new hoarding and palisade fencing installation.

The site presented several operational constraints, including a live MOD sewer running through the site, live drainage systems, a live transformer within the warehouse, and the requirement for ongoing access for the client’s operational bus parking. Hughes and Salvidge worked closely with the client to maintain daily access and safe site operations.

Given the site’s close proximity to residential housing, extensive community engagement was carried out prior to works commencing, including resident meetings, newsletters and project information leaflets. Working hours were controlled to minimise disruption.

Demolition was undertaken in carefully planned phases, progressing through loading bays, warehouses, printing press structures, office blocks and ancillary buildings. Steel-framed structures were dismantled using excavators fitted with rotational shear attachments, while reinforced concrete structures were demolished mechanically. Materials were segregated and processed on site, with crushed material reused to form 6F2 as required.

The works were delivered safely while maintaining asset protection, environmental controls and operational access for the client.