What are Tourism Signs for?
Brown and white tourism signs are used alongside existing road signing on the highway network to direct people to a predetermined destination.
There are two types of destination.
1. An attraction. This is a place people visit for pleasure and interest, for example: museums, historic buildings and theme parks.
2. A facility. This is a tourist amenity, for example: a camping ground or picnic site.
You can apply for tourism signs if the attraction or facility is:
- Permanent
- Open to the general public without prior booking, during its normal opening hours
- Open for at least 6 continuous months of the year
- Recognised as a tourist attraction or facility by Visit England/Visit Cornwall
Things to note before making an application.
- Tourist destinations are generally signed from the nearest main distributor road. (Generally, A or B class roads).
- Measures should already be in place to assist in finding the establishment. e.g. web site directions but not by use of private unauthorised signs on the highway
- Signs within Conservation Areas or designated landscapes will have to comply to policy and planning requirements.
- Cornwall is mainly rural and known for its beauty, so sign clutter is something we want to avoid. We aim to minimise the size and number of signs we add to our highway network, so will fix to existing posts and sign faces where possible.
- A non-refundable fee for 1 applicant for the initial assessment as to whether you are eligible for signing is £200. Payable upon application. This increases to £300 for two different attractions, £550 for three and £1000 for four.
Making an application
Our application period is year long
If further assistance is required, applicants can contact our Customer Service Centre at enquiries@cornwallhighways.co.uk.
What next?
Once your application is received it will be acknowledged within 10 days.
The assessment is undertaken and this generally takes a few weeks.
The applicant will be contacted about the decision. On occasion we may not be able to support your application. If that is the case, we will provide you with an explanation of our reasons. Please note that there is no appeal process.
Approved applications can then be progressed to sign design, your application will be discussed with you, you will be provided a costing schedule and if you agree they will be erected.
Implementation costs
Should your initial application be successful you will then need to cover the cost of any design work and then the costs of having them made and installed.
Simple signing schemes may differ in cost to design and install, depending on the size and number of signs. Simple schemes are between £1500 and £3000, more complex schemes can cost over £10,000. These costs are provided to give you an indication of your possible outlay.