Penrith town councillors are set to receive another update on Monday evening on the town council’s £170,000 project to replace the town centre’s wayfinding signs – after the scheme missed its July completion date and remains unfinished.
The town council’s replacement signage scheme was supposed to have been completed by 31 July, according to the tender documents, but more than a month after that deadline the town centre is still waiting for much of the new signage to appear.
The project has already seen the town’s existing wayfinding signs removed, with only a relatively small number of the replacement fingerposts installed.
In a number of locations, the old signs have disappeared but the replacement signage has yet to be installed, with cones covering holes in the pavement remaining visible around the town centre throughout the summer.
Councillors are now due to receive a verbal update on the project and the delays at Monday evening’s Planning Committee meeting.
The £170,676.93 scheme was originally expected to be completed at the end of July.
As that deadline approached, the council said the project was entering its final stages, with the remaining old signage being removed and contractors installing the new fingerposts.
Councillors were subsequently told that completion was expected by Friday 7 August, with an additional contingency week available if required.
That deadline has also come and gone, with the main wayfinding elements of the scheme, including the larger information and interpretation signs planned for the town, still not installed across the town centre.
The town council originally consulted on plans for a major replacement of Penrith’s ageing signage in 2025, with the existing system having been installed back in 2012.
The project was eventually put out to tender, with Trueform Engineering Limited awarded the contract in December 2025 at a value of £170,676.93.
The contract covers the design, manufacture and installation of the new signage, together with the removal of the existing signs.
Councillor Scott Jackson, Chair of Penrith Town Council’s Planning Committee speaking about the signage in July said: “Penrith Town Council has been working to make the town centre easier to navigate and more welcoming for residents, visitors and local businesses.”
”This project, supported through the Borderlands Place Programme, is a practical improvement that will help people move around Penrith more easily, explore more of the town and better connect our shops, heritage sites and public spaces.”
Monday’s meeting will give councillors and the wider community an opportunity to hear where the project currently stands, what work remains outstanding and when the new signage can finally be completed.
The Planning Committee meeting takes place at 5.15pm on Monday 7 September at Unit 2, Church House, Friargate.
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