Guardians of the North York Moors have issued calls to the highways department to improve the “abysmal” and “dreary” signs surrounding the national park as part of a drive to increase visitor numbers.
A meeting of the North York Moors National Park Authority heard numerous members condemn both the brown tourist signs and ones mounted on roadside stones featuring the park’s name and emblem as inadequate and insufficient to highlight the special landscapes and behaviour expected of visitors.
The criticism towards Conservative-led North Yorkshire County Council came from some of its own members as the park authority discussed a fresh strategy to fulfil its purpose to promote opportunities for the public enjoyment of the special qualities of the park.
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Member Caroline Patmore said: “We hope we’re working with partners.
At the moment North Yorkshire County Council have the final say over brown signs. I think we need to do an awful lot of work with the county council to help them to understand what is important to us because at the moment they can override and say we don’t want any more clutter on our roads.
“Brown signs don’t stand out very well. They are rather dreary to the landscape. I’m not suggesting we have flashing yellow or red signs, but I’m sure there’s a way of making a new coloured sign that shows these places.”
Another Conservative councillor, Heather Moorhouse, added it was very frustrating for businesses that requested signs and were refused by the council, only to see them going up elsewhere.
She said: “They will only put up signs when it’s in the middle of nowhere and that’s one of the daft criterias.”
The authority’s chief executive Tom Hind confirmed talks were being held with the council about signage concerns.
Park authority member and former chairman of York Tourism Bureau Andrew Scott said if North Yorkshire and City of York councils could have signs highlighting their boundaries, the national park should be allowed them too.
Artist and authority member Colin Williamson described the signage outside the parks as “pretty abysmal”. He said: “People coming in see a stone in the ground and can’t see the national park emblem on it.
“When you go to the Lakes they are stuck two or three yards up into the air saying you have now entered the national park. That’s something we need, something bright that says this is a national park. Otherwise people are driving along and they have no idea whether that bit is national park and this bit isn’t.”
Member Subash Sharma told the meeting the park needed to clearly differentiate itself from elsewhere.
After the meeting, the county council’s executive member for highways, Councillor Don Mackenzie said both the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales were very large areas and many new signs could be needed to meet the calls of the park authority members.
He said: “They are big enough places for most people to find I would have thought. I really don’t think signage is needed to point out these areas.
“In our dealings with the national parks we are constantly reminded that they don’t like clutter.
“I fail to see how the provision of what would have to be many, many signs pointing out where the national park is would not lead to further clutter.”