LEDBURY residents are angry the town council is being asked to pay for new signage to Herefordshire Council's money-spinning car parks.

Ledbury Town Council could end up paying for eight new town centre signs, instead of the cost being met by the car parks' owner, Herefordshire Council.

The proposal, still to be rubber-stamped by the town council, has led to lively debate especially because Herefordshire Council makes around £300,000 a year in revenue from its car parks in Ledbury.

Town councillor Bob Barnes called the situation "disgraceful" but said tourism was vital for the town and signs were needed to encourage people to stay.

Ledbury resident, Nicola Jane Evans posted on social media site Voice of Ledbury: “With the increase in car parking charges, I'm sure Herefordshire Council can fund it themselves?”

Another resident, Chris Davies, making reference to the current poor state of Ledbury’s roads, such as The Homend, posted: “Surely before Herefordshire Council ask us for money for signs they should be giving us money to repair the roads around the town first?”

Stephen Thompson asked: “Surely the car parks are already sign posted, so why do we need new signs?”

Most of the new signs will point drivers the way to the town centre car parks which include St Katherine’s, Bye Street, Lawnside and Bridge Street.

Cllr Bob Barnes, chairman of the town’s economic development and planning committee, called the situation faced by the town council “disgraceful”, as it considers digging into the public purse to fund the signs.

But he also said the signs were needed to help more visitors to the town find the car parks, which in turn would encourage visitors to stay longer.

He believes that Ledbury’s current signs to car parks are inadequate and likely to confuse visiting drivers.

And as an example, he described the existing signage at the Bye Street junction as “too busy”.

Cllr Barnes added: “Herefordshire Council’s contractor, Balfour Beatty, hasn’t got any money for the signs, but the money is in our budget. We are not talking about huge sums.

“Last year, we had visitors parking on the streets because they could not find our car parks.”

Because of this, many visitors were only short stay, and Cllr Barnes added: “Tourism is one of our biggest income streams, and we want our visitors to stay longer.

“We want to become a destination for tourists, not just a passing thought.”

If the cost of the new signs is relatively modest, given the budget provision is £1,000, the number of visitors to Ledbury is already on a different scale.

Cllr Barnes said the parish church last year alone recorded up to 40,000 visitors.

He added two new proposed brown signs, pointing the way the Master’s House and the Market Theatre, would not be paid from the public purse but funding would be sourced from elsewhere.

He said: “The town council is not paying for the brown signs.”

Town councillor Harrison Wilce said the council should not be considering paying for any of them.

He said: “I believe that Herefordshire Council should be paying for any signage pointing towards car parks which it profits from.”

A Herefordshire Council spokesman said the proposed new signage was "non-statutory and must be funded by a third party.

"As the proposed signs are not associated to the safety of the public, they do not fall under the remit of Herefordshire Council.

"The income received from public parking in Ledbury and the county is used to contribute towards vital services such as the council’s transport strategy.”