New signage scheme highlights delights Penrith has to offer

Work on a new signage scheme for Penrith town centre is now near completion. The aim of the new Wayfinder signs is to guide, inform, engage and educate visitors and shoppers to the town, so they dwell longer and take time to mingle and discover new things about Penrith.

The new signage scheme is part of the Vitality of Penrith Group’s (VoP) Pedestrian Movement Project. Peter Ward, VOP’s Environment Champion said: “The 14 new Wayfinder signs are a quality bespoke design, developed after consultation with the people of the town to showcase what Penrith has to offer to visitors and shoppers.

“The Pedestrian Movement project really compliments the existing work by VoP and its partners to enhance Penrith’s public spaces including the sign installed by PACT in the Old Grammar School near the Devonshire Arcade in Penrith which was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, VoP, the Arcade and other supporters.”

The Wayfinders are double sided signs, providing directional information for pedestrians on one side and information to promote the heritage of Penrith on the other. Eden District Council and Cumbria County Council have worked with Penrith and Eden Museum and Jo Scott, a specialist in heritage interpretation to provide heritage text and images that will appeal to a range of audiences in Penrith. The Wayfinders and benches will also incorporate the newly designed logo, Penrith: Heart of Cumbria.

Eden District Council’s Leader, Councillor Gordon Nicolson said: “I am delighted that the work is progressing well. The Wayfinder signs and seats will help people to find their way around Penrith and appreciate the character of this historic market town. We hope that visitors and locals will be encouraged to spend more time enjoying Penrith’s unique specialist shops and larger retailers and learn more about the town.

“Local people gave their views about this project at an exhibition last year. I want to give special mention to Bob Clark, Kelvin Dixon and Peter Ward from the Vitality of Penrith Group, to the community for their support and to Council staff for making this project a reality.”

Creative design company The Knack were appointed in April this year to design and manufacture the elements of street furniture. The locations of the signs are:

Wayfinders
Brunswick Road (pedestrian Entrance to Morrisons)
Poets Walk (top of steps )
Cornmarket (Near Bandstand)
Middlegate (opposite Lakeland Embroidery)
Middlegate (Opposite Tourist Information Centre/Museum)
Sandgate  (opposite Spar Shop/Telephone Box)
Friargate (bottom end of pedestrian path near Mansion House)
Newton Rigg (on C2C route)

Seating and Information Gondolas
Market Place (replaced old seating near HSBC/red Telephone Boxes)
Bus Station (to replaced old blue seating)

Mini Wayfinders
Sandgate (junction with Albert St)
Bluebell Lane Car Par (near pay and display sign - Middlegate entrance)
Morrisons Link (top of footpath link to town centre opposite the store)
Railway Station (footpath near bus shelter)

VoP would like to acknowledge that the Wayfinder signs at Newton Rigg on the C2C and at Poets Walk are being funded by the Rural Development Programme for England. This part of the project is part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas, for which Defra is the Managing Authority.

Councillor Helen Fearon, Cumbria County Councillor for Penrith West, said: “Encouraging visitors and shoppers to spend longer in Penrith will help boost the town’s economy and these Wayfinder signs are a good way of making the town centre a more interesting place to explore. As well as helping show off the modern face of the town, the signs offer a glimpse into Penrith’s past and I’m sure they’ll be appreciated by locals and tourists alike.”

Wayfinders designed to the same style and specification will be installed in New Squares by Sainsbury’s in the coming months.
VoP’s Pedestrian Movement Strategy was developed following a range of consultation events in Penrith with the public and businesses. Funding from Eden District Council and Cumbria County Council has been approved to allow the priorities of the strategy to be implemented.

For more information about the VoP Pedestrian Movement Strategy contact the Economic Regeneration Officer at Eden District Council telephone: 01768 817817.

Pictured members of the Vitality of Penrith Group, representatives from Eden District Council and Cumbria County Council and The Knack celebrate the completion of Penrith’s new town centre signage scheme.