Tourism signing policy

1. Introduction

1.1

Brown on white tourism signs direct visitors to tourist attractions and facilities. Tourism signing has been subject to a number of national policy reviews and these guidelines reflect national best practice. A tourist attraction is now broadly defined for signing purposes as a permanently established destination or facility that attracts or is used by visitors to an area and which is open to the public without prior booking during its normal opening hours.

1.2

Tourist attractions can be divided into two main categories: Attractions and Facilities.

An “attraction” includes places of interest open to the public offering recreation, education or historical interest. These include theme parks, historic houses, museums, and leisure complexes. This category also includes garden centres, farm centres and craft centres.

A “facility” covers places which provide a service, i.e. accommodation, restaurants, cafes, pubs, shops. Cinemas, theatres, concert halls and sports venues also come under this heading.

1.3

Any attraction should have a minimum visitor level of 10,000 visitors per annum, be open consecutively for at least 6 hours a day for 6 days a week for 6 months of the year. Consideration will be given to signing from further afield for the larger attractions or for attractions which do not meet the criteria if there are other merits such as significant educational value, uniqueness in what they offer, exhibit or display or localised traffic management reasons.

1.4

All attractions and facilities shall be expected to comply with the prevailing relevant tourist industry quality standards and policies in-line with Visit England.

1.5

All attractions and facilities will be expected to help themselves in terms of promotion to the tourist industry, by use of a website, distribution of leaflets and information, etc. It will not be deemed acceptable to rely solely on the provision of highway signs to guide visitors.

1.6

Road safety, traffic management and environmental considerations will take precedence when considering the location of the signs.

2. Core Criteria

The fundamental principles for the consideration of tourism signing and the Core Criteria are as follows:

2.1

The primary purpose of tourism signing is to direct visitors to an attraction or facility. It should not be used as a marketing tool for a destination as this is the responsibility of the owner of the facility. Signs will not be approved at locations where it is considered their provision would be primarily for promotional or advertisement reasons.

2.2

A tourist destination, for signing purposes, is a permanently established attraction or facility that attracts or is used by visitors to an area, and which is open to the public without prior booking during its normal opening hours and should:

1. Have adequate parking on site or close by. The signs should direct road users to the parking facilities rather than the destination itself. Additional pedestrian signing will be considered from the signed car park if a requirement is identified;
2. Have adequate toilets on site (accessible in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act);
3. Be publicised, for example, within tourist guide books, leaflets, on a website and at Tourist Information Centres (evidence of marketing material will need to be provided); and
4. Be generally of good quality, well maintained and accessible in accordance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

2.3

A tourist attraction (other than sports centres, concert venues, theatres and cinemas) will need to be accredited by the ‘Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service’ run by the Visit England or the prevailing tourist industry standards.

2.4

Attractions and facilities should be open consecutively for at least 6 hours a day for 6 days a week for 6 months of the year.

2.5

An attraction accessed directly from an A class road and visible to passing motorists will not normally be signed unless there is a road safety consideration in visitors locating the appropriate exit from the highway.

3. Destination Criteria

The applicant should meet the following Destination Criteria before consideration for Tourism Signing is given.

4. Sign Design And Location

If a destination is approved for signing after consideration of the above criteria, Council officers will undertake to identify the most appropriate location for the signs and the actual sign design. Traffic sign designs can only be provided in accordance with the national statutory directions contained within TSRGD 2016.

In respect of the location of the signs the following guidance applies:

4.1

Road safety is the primary concern. The sign(s) will be located to clearly indicate the most appropriate access for the destination and additional signing will be identified should this be considered necessary to guide drivers towards the identified access.

4.2

Except for attractions receiving over 150,000 visitors per year with adequate on-site parking and facilities, tourist destinations will generally be signed from the nearest appropriate classified road and continued to the destination. Where signing is required at 2 or more junctions from the A-road,

consideration will be given to providing ‘route to be followed’ signing (such as ‘For railway museum follow A121’).

4.3

No more than 4 tourist destinations (white on brown signs) will be signed from a single junction arm to ensure that road safety is not compromised by distracting drivers and providing them with too much information. Where an application requires an addition to a sign that already has 4 signed destinations a review will be undertaken of the existing signing with a view to identifying the most appropriate 4 destinations based upon:

1. Visitor numbers; and
2. Road safety;
3. In some instances where there are a number of tourist destinations it may be appropriate to provide a generic sign (for example ‘The Barbican’).

4.4

Names of destinations will not normally be included on the sign for commercial attractions unless it is required to differentiate between closely located destinations or if the signing allowed within TSRGD 2016 does not adequately describe the destination. General consideration should be given to the location of the destination in relation to the wider area. Where the destination is within a large

conurbation or associated with a larger destination, this should be used to direct visitors to the attraction and supplementary signing provided only if the access from the highway is not obvious. Using this approach, destinations that meet the criteria and are not closely located to a conurbation will be likely to warrant signing.

4.5

The signing provision will be targeted to minimise the impact on the surrounding environment and reduce ‘street clutter’. This may require the consolidation of existing signs and this will be at the

applicant’s cost. Eligibility does not confer automatic entitlement to tourist signs and decisions will need to consider local circumstances including the number of similar establishments in the area. Use of tourist signs is conditional on the removal of any advertisement signs relating to that destination from private land adjacent to the public highway. Where there may be several tourist destinations in an area that qualifies under the guidelines for signing, a collective approach should be considered utilising combined signing outlined the TSRGD 2016.

5. Application Procedure and Financial Arrangements

5.1

All applicants for signs will be expected to complete a comprehensive application form, supply supporting information if requested, and pay a non-returnable flat fee of £127 to Plymouth City Council for determining the application. (A separate application is required for different destinations). The fee is retained whether application is successful or not in order to cover administration costs and site visits as necessary.

5.2

If an application is successful, it will then be necessary to design an appropriate signing scheme. The guidelines indicate that all signing should be at the expense of the applicant so that traffic authorities incur no financial burden in allowing tourism signs on their road. The cost of each sign/ scheme will include design fees, production, implementation and will vary depending on the size of the sign and the location that it will be placed. It is also therefore necessary to include an additional sum on top of any final works cost. This sum is to cover costs in designing and supervising the approved signing scheme and to cover future routine maintenance of the signs.

Any signs that require replacement due to normal wear and tear or accident or vandal damage will only be replaced at the expense of the applicant.

Operators will be expected to sign a Tourist Attraction Operators Agreement which sets out the conditions under which the signs are provided. The additional sum for this work is a flat charge of

£100 for schemes costing up to £400 and thereafter a charge of 25% of the works cost. All costs are quoted exclusive of VAT which will need to be charged at the appropriate rate.