Have your say on a sign for the times in the town centre
VISITORS to Hinckley coming to explore the town’s rich heritage and retail offering may soon have some extra help to navigate the town centre.
New signage is being proposed at key points such as the railway station and on Castle Street, the main shopping street, to help people find their way around the town.
Proposed signs include totems, car park signs and new finger posts with walking times between different locations, to help those unfamiliar with the layout of Hinckley.
Some of the existing signs would be removed or replaced, including some finger posts which have become damaged or moved around, so they no longer point the right way.
Councillor Keith Nichols, executive member for town centres at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “We all want to see the town centre thrive and this is just one area that can bring improvements everyone can benefit from.
“It’s a good opportunity to bring some consistency to the various signs we have, most of which have appeared in a piecemeal way over the years in different styles and formats and are not necessarily in the most appropriate places anymore.
“I would urge anyone who visits or uses the town to take a moment to look at the proposals and give us your views.”
Overall, there would be a 20 per cent reduction in signage across the town centre, with finger posts to be removed from outside the railway station and on Castle Street.
More modern features such as the interactive totem signs in The Crescent shopping complex and on Castle Street would be retained.
Some distinctive heritage signage would also be retained, including the large decorative sign and information board in the gardens on the corner of Church Walk and Station Road.
New totems, are proposed for outside the railway station, by the entrance to Hinckley Hub, at the western end of The Crescent near Sainsbury’s, in Argents Mead, and on Market Place and Castle Street, which would indicate walking times to other places.
Fingerposts with walking times are planned for several locations just outside the town centre, including on the corner of Bridge Street and Brookside, near the railway station, and on the corner of Lower and Upper Bond Street, near the old cinema.
Fresh signs are also proposed for eight of the councilrun car parks across the town centre, providing walking distance times for other locations.
You can find out more about the scheme and comment on the plans on the www.hinckleywayfinding.com website.
The deadline to submit feedback is December 17 at 5pm.