Southampton
Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd October 2025
Our autumn conference takes place in Southampton on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd October xxxxxxx and will feature the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, as our pre-dinner speaker. She has strong views on public transport and one of her five priorities is to deliver a publicly-run transport system for the region.
Kicking things off on Wednesday afternoon is an optional site visit to Stagecoach North East’s Sunderland depot, including electric bus charging facility. And for those who can arrive earlier in the day, we have very limited number of places for an additional visit to see the new Tyne and Wear Metro train and its training facility (this visit is full). Due to the funeral of a member of the Lumo team being held on Wednesday they are, understandably, no longer able to host us on a visit to the training centre and train driving simulator.
The conference presentations will be on Thursday – and we have some top level speakers lined up, including:
- Phil Cummins, Engineering Director, Arriva UK Bus
- Cathy Massarella, Managing Director, Nexus (Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive)
- Anna Courtier, Northern Region, Women in Bus and Coach
- Dan Graham, Managing Director, Northstar
- Josh Devlin, Operations Director, Go North East
- George Sloan, Operations Director, Stagecoach West & Oxford Tube
There will also the ever-popular interactive workshop, details of which will be given on the day. For the full conference programme, click here.
Timing
The conference will be held at the The County Hotel, which is directly opposite to Newcastle railway station.
- 1115-1130 extra optional visit to see new Metro train departs by Metro from Central station. Visit full.
- 1230 – 1430 running buffet lunch and conference registration at hotel
- 1430 site visit to Stagecoach North East’s Sunderland depot departs
- 1900 pre-dinner speaker Kim McGuinness, North East Mayor will speak and answer questions before dinner. Meet in hotel bar from 1830.
Thursday’s conference sessions begin at 0845 and the conference ends at 1515.
Cost
Residential – includes arrival light lunch, dinner, accommodation in a bedroom for single occupancy and breakfast in addition to the conference sessions, lunch and refreshments: Early bird price until 17th
January £284 +VAT. Full price from 18th January £312 +VAT.
Non-residential – includes arrival light lunch, dinner, the conference sessions, lunch and refreshments, but excludes accommodation and breakfast: Early bird price until 17th January £210 +VAT. Full price from
18th January £231 +VAT.
About the conference venue
The conference will be held at the Novotel Southampton, 1 West Quay Road, Southampton, SO15 1RA. Telephone 023 8107 2800. The hotel has a small pool, gym and sauna available to hotel guests. The leisure club is open from 0600-2200.
How to get to the Novotel Southampton
By Train
The hotel is four minutes walk from Southampton Central railway station. From the platforms, follow the signs for Way out and Buses. The exit is beside platform 4a. *From the station exit, walk straight ahead and cross the access to the front of the station to the right between the bus shelters. Turn immediately right at the road and you’ll see that the path forks left (past the taxi rank) and to the right. You can take either path. When you reach the traffic lights you’ll be able to see the end of the Novotel, which is the two tone brown building across the junction. Cross the single slip road, then turn left and cross to the island in the centre of the dual carriageway. Cross the filter lane to the small island and cross the other side of the dual carriageway to the bigger island. You’ll see the word Novotel written vertically on the building just ahead of you. Cross the final filter lane and take the left fork of the footpath and follow it down to the front of the hotel.
By Express Coach
FlixBus coaches stop at Southampton Central station. Follow the instructions above from *.
National Express coaches stop at Southampton Coach Station, which is less than 10 minutes walk from the Novotel. Google maps will take you on a longer route. This route is shorter. From the
coach, turn right out of the exit onto Harbour Parade (where the vehicle drove in) and turn right. At the roundabout, cross the road towards the retail park straight ahead and turn right at the pavement. Follow the footpath around
the edge of the retail park with shops on your left and the road on your right. When you reach the roundabout, cross the road to your right and you’ll see the Novotel ahead behind TGI Fridays. Walk straight ahead to the hotel.
By Air
The nearest airport is Southampton. Trains run five times an hour to Southampton Central station in around seven to ten minutes. Follow the instructions above from *.
By Car
There is parking at the Novotel at a cost of £12 per night.
Dinner menu
Starter
Option A: Roasted Autumn vegetable soup (gluten free, vegan)
Option B: Ham hock and pea terrine eerved with apricot jell, pickled cucumber and seasonal salad (gluten free)
Option C: Caprese salad topped with toasted blue poppy seeds (gluten free, vegan)
Main
Option D: Thyme and lemon crusted salmon accompanied by braised baby gem, semi dried cherry tomatoes, garlic steamed potato and a warm hollandaise sauce (can be gluten free if pre-ordered)
Option E: Seared chicken breast, dauphinoise potatoes, roasted baby leeks and carrots smeared with a café au lait sauce (gluten free)
Option F: Pressed pork belly served with creamy mashed potato, crispy cabbage, pressed apple and a creamy cider jus (gluten free)
Option G: Pickled pepper stuffed with burnt cauliflower vegan cheese (gluten free, vegan)
Dessert
Option H: Caramelized biscuit cheesecake (can be gluten free if pre-ordered)
Option I: Classic lemon tart
Option J: Chocolate orange tart (gluten free)
Tea and coffee
Updated 11/07/25