STREET name signs that are damaged or missing across Salisbury will be replaced as part of a new project that will cost Salisbury Area Board £17,000.

The funding for the Salisbury Street Nameplate Repair Replacement Project was given the go-ahead at the Salisbury Area Board on Monday, November 4, and as a result remedial work will be taking place on road signs in St Pauls, St Francis, St Edmunds and Milford areas.

The project will be building on the work completed across St Martins, Fisherton and Bemerton last year, in which the area board granted around £10,000.

Describing the proposal as “round two”, Wiltshire councillor and chairman of the CATG, Sven Hocking, who was applying for the funding, said: “What we’re looking for is the money to refurbish and replace, and in a lot of cases renew, all those signs that have gone missing or walkabout, or are broken beyond economical repair.

“The amount asked for is higher than before because phase one of the project proved so popular, people have been writing in asking for their local signs to be done, and so the list is growing steadily as we speak.”

Concerns surrounding the project, which were voiced by Cllr Ricky Rogers and Cllr Atiqul Hoque, included exceeding the area board’s criteria of granting up to £5,000 for each project, and not knowing what other projects would need funding this financial year.

Cllr Brian Dalton added: “Wiltshire Council should be doing this as it is a statutory duty, but the work that has happened around the city already has been great. I do support this but just fear that more projects will come forward this year that we cannot help fund.”

Despite reservations however the motion was carried.

Cllr Matthew Dean said: “For the many people who don’t use council services at all, the one thing they do see is a street name at the end of their street. In urban areas this is something people expect us to do. We’ve sorted out street cleaning, we’ve sorted out bins, this is the next thing for us to do.”

Following the approved funding Cllr Hocking said: “This is a little thing that will make a lot of difference.”

Phase two aims to be completed by the end of the financial year, followed by phase three which will focus on signs in Harnham and Bishopdown.