About

Summary 

Acorn and our associates Allen Scott Landscape Architects had undertaken a Signage Audit of the Kent coastal strip as part of the Coastal Actions for Sustainable Tourism Interreg IVa Project. This audit included all the signs along Dover’s coast from Sandwich Flats to Samphire Hoe Country Park. The outputs from the Signage Audit were a summary report that compiled the findings from the Thanet, Dover and Shepway Districts; an Excel database of all the signs audited and GIS mapping with a photograph and survey data of each sign. 

The following year Dover District Council commissioned Acorn Tourism and Allen Scott to continue the audit to cover all the tourist related signs in Dover Town. 

Our Approach

The purpose of the Dover Town Signage Audit was to provide Dover District Council with details of the tourism signs across Dover Town in a format that could be used alongside the findings of the Coastal Strip audit. The same survey questions and GIS mapping system were therefore used for both audits.

The signs audited in Dover Town included:

• Directional signage – local and regional.
• Directive signage – e.g., Dover Harbour Board, but not highways or parking signs other than those directly related to tourism.
• Information signs – e.g., visitor information and interpretation. 

Our report summarised the findings of both audits and was accompanied by an Excel spreadsheet and GIS mapping with a photograph and survey data of each sign recorded for the Dover Town audit.

Outcome

The two Signage Audits found that overall signs were:

• Positive in their message (56%) 
• Well positioned (89%) 
• In a satisfactory condition (78%) with just under a fifth (18%) considered worn. 

The signs in the Town were primarily directional, while the directive signs were along the Coast. The majority of the informational signage was also along the Coast.