The CIHT South West Region are delighted to invite you to the South West Conference 2024! After a 4 year absence, this regional in-person conference event returns on Wednesday 13th November.
Our themes this year are Active Travel, Climate Change and Diversity.
Venue: The County Room, Somerset County Cricket Ground, St James Street, Taunton, TA1 1JT
Date: Wednesday 13 November 2024
Time: 9:00 - 16:00
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been postponed. New bookings will be available soon.
This year, we are excited that the event will take place in the iconic sporting venue that is the Somerset County Cricket Ground in Taunton located just a 10 minute walk from Taunton Train Station. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet others in the Highways and Transportation Industry face-to-face, with built in periods for networking, debate and discussion throughout the day.
Our themes this year are Active Travel, Climate Change and Diversity and we have a host of fantastic speakers as part of the programme to discuss current regional and national topics of importance as we step forward into the middle of this decade, as well as a keynote speech from the CIHT President. We also have a host of exhibitors from various business lines and backgrounds providing a unique opportunity to talk to businesses and organisations about their work and offering in person.
We have confirmed participation from Devon County Council, AECOM, WSP, ARUP, JACOBS, Bath and Northeast Somerset Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Tracsis and Streetwise.
This event is sponsored by
Programme of the Day
Anyone interested or working in or with the Highways & Transportation industry.
CPD is defined as any activity that provides new knowledge or skills that help you to achieve your professional development goals or has otherwise helped you to develop as a highways and transportation professional
Plan, record and manage your CPD for free at CIHT Learn.
Need help with getting the most out of your CPD access CIHT’s CPD Guidance here.
For more information, please contact southwest@ciht.org.uk.
The South West Conference 2024 will have capacity for 8 organisations to exhibit to the conference delegates. Exhibiting at the conference is a great way to get exposure in the industry with clients, contractors, consultants, and various other stakeholders.
There are numerous benefits to being an exhibitor:
This year we’re offering a great deal with the charge for exhibitors being just £175 + VAT.
If this sounds like a great opportunity for your organisation, please contact will.wilson@aecom.com.
Please find below information about our confirmed speakers. We are still confirming speakers from AECOM and SWIP.
Karen McShane - CIHT President
Karen McShane is a Chartered Engineer with over 35 years of experience having worked in local government and consultancy. For 22 years Karen worked throughout UK and Ireland for a multinational company becoming a Director in 2005. She set up her own consultancy in 2011 where she oversaw work in a range of sectors including transport, highways and the private sector.
She joined the Strategic Investment Board as an adviser in 2012 and works part time on regionally significant projects within Northern Ireland as well as being an industry member of the Legislatives Assembly All Party Group for Construction.
She studied civil engineering at Queens University Belfast and currently sits on the Civil Engineering Industrial Liaison Panel for Ulster University where she regularly carries out guest lectures on transportation. Karen was elected President of CIHT in June 2023.
Karen will deliver the keynote address.
Doug Eltham - Head of Environment, Devon County Council
Doug is a Chartered Environmentalist and is the Environment and Sustainability Policy Officer at Devon County Council. In this role Doug is responsible for leading the environmental improvement of the Council’s activities and leads the team that is delivering the Devon Climate Emergency project. Doug has been involved in waste management, behaviour change projects, community energy schemes, appraising the sustainability of Minerals and Waste Local Plans and preparing climate vulnerability risk assessments. Doug has a BSc in Geography from the University of Plymouth and an MSc in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh.
Doug will be presenting ‘Transport Priorities in the Devon Carbon Plan’.
Brian Deegan - Director of Inspections, Active Travel England
Brian Deegan is the Director of Inspections at Active Travel England.
Brian is one of the UK’s leading experts in active travel design and helped write the ‘Cycling Level of Service’ and ‘Healthy Street Check for Designers’, as well as co-authoring ‘London Cycling Design Standards’ and the ‘EU Cycling Strategy’.
He is currently heading a team of inspectors ensuring design quality on several billion pounds of government investment in active travel infrastructure.
Lauren Allington - Graduate Trainee Transport Planner, Devon County Council (South West EP Presentation Competition 2023 Winner)
Lauren joined the Devon County Council Transport Planning team in September 2021 and has since been involved in a variety of schemes across the county, in particular a number of active travel interventions and the development of the new Local Transport Plan. She has also been fortunate to be able to undertake an MSc in Transportation Planning and Engineering alongside working in the team. Lauren is looking forward to presenting about the issue of youth representation in Transport Planning and hearing from all the other speakers at the CIHT SW conference.
Working in Transport Planning at a Local Authority means seeing first hand how transport interventions are planned, designed and delivered around the needs of local residents. Hosting public consultations is central in developing schemes, however at Devon County Council there has been a lack of engagement from younger audiences. Under 25s make up a disproportionately small amount of consultation responses, meaning we could be missing key data and information about their needs and travel habits. Lauren will be discussing why the youth are often invisible in transport planning consultations, the implications of this, and how it could be addressed.
The County Room,
Somerset County Cricket Club,
St James Street,
Taunton, TA1 1JT
More information about the conference venue can be found here:
https://cacgsomerset.co.uk/venue/the-county-room/
Public Transport
By train: Somerset County Cricket Club is 10 minutes walk from Taunton Train Station.
By bus: There are several bus services that stop within Taunton town centre, the majority of these are just a short walk from the Cooper Associates County Ground, which is clearly signposted throughout the town.
Driving
At Junction 25, take the A358 Exit to Taunton/ Yeovil. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit (south) or 3rd exit (north) onto the A358 heading to Taunton/ A38/ Minehead, continuing straight onto Toneway/ A358. At the next roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Priory Avenue and the Cooper Associates County Ground will be on your left.
Parking
The nearest car park is Canon Street, which is 10 minutes walk from the venue. Other nearby car parks within 15 minutes walking distance include Belvedere Road and Wood Street.
Got a question?
t: +44 (0)20 7336 1555
e: info@ciht.org.uk