Signage Audit

Binevenagh, Causeway Coast and Antrim Coast & Glens AONBs Signage Audit Final Report st 31 March 2016 Report commissioned by TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Photography & Mapping .................................................................................................. 3 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................................. 4 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 6 Appendix 1 – Antrim Coast & Glens AONB Signage Audit Results Antrim Coast & Glens AONB Signage Map Rathlin Island Signage Map Ballycastle Signage Map Carnfunnock Country Park Signage Map Carnlough Signage Map Cushendall Signage Map Glenarm Signage Map Antrim Coast & Glens AONB Report Cards Appendix 2 – Binevenagh AONB Signage Audit Results Binevenagh AONB Signage Map Downhill Demesne Signage Map Binevenagh AONB Report Cards Appendix 3 – Causeway Coast AONB Signage Audit Results Causeway Coast AONB Signage Map Dunluce Castle Signage Map Giant’s Causeway Signage Map Causeway Coast AONB Report Cards 1 1. INTRODUCTION Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland (ORNI) carried out a comprehensive audit of outdoor interpretative signage within Binevenagh, Causeway Coast and Antrim Coast & Glens Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty on behalf of Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust (CCGHT) in March 2016. For the purposes of this audit ‘Interpretive Signage’ was defined as all types of interpretative information in the form of interpretation panels, information points, panoramic viewpoints, storyboards and interpretative waymarkers, excluding those used exclusively for directional marking. This audit did not include brown tourist road signage or blue National Cycle Network marker posts. The following report provides an overview of the current state of outdoor interpretative signage within Binevenagh, Causeway Coast and Antrim Coast and Glens Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) as well as accurate report cards and GPS plots for each individual sign. 2. METHODOLOGY ORNI collated information on outdoor interpretative sign locations from organisations which expressed interest in this audit via email and phone. Visual inspections were then carried out during the first two weeks of March 2016. ORNI recorded and assessed the following; Location AONB Land i.e. Public / Private Management Organisation Brand Signage Type Describing purpose/function, each sign was categorised into one or more of the following; Information Point, Interpretation, Storyboard and Viewpoint Signage Theme The content of each sign was categorised into one or more of the following; Biodiversity, History, Information, Landscape and Myths & Legends 2 Placement Holistic site assessments were taken into consideration during inspections with placement of each sign described as either ‘suitable’ or ‘unsuitable’. In cases where placement is described as ‘unsuitable’ further information is provided in notes / additional photos Content Sign content was assessed during inspections and has been described as either ‘accurate’ or ‘inaccurate’. In cases where sign content is described as ‘inaccurate’ further information is provided in notes / additional photos Condition of Panel Rated from Very Good to Very Poor Condition of Housing Rated from Very Good to Very Poor Based on the assessment criteria above, ORNI has produced a series of signage report cards providing recommendations for each management organisation to carry out its own future assessment of specific interpretative signage based on a sliding scale of 1 (High Priority) to 5 (Low Priority). 2.1 PHOTOGRAPHY & MAPPING High resolution photographs were taken of each outdoor interpretative sign including detailed photos of any deficiencies and/or damage noted in the respective signage report cards. This overview report uses low resolution versions of these photographs however high resolution photographs can be made available by contacting Outdoor Recreation NI. GPS coordinates were logged for each outdoor interpretative sign with data recorded and collated on ORNI’s Geographic Information System (GIS). Each sign was assigned a unique code enabling ORNI to group one or more via any of the assessment criteria listed on the previous page. Annotated maps have been produced for each AONB and eight key sites, see appendix for more information. 3 3. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS During visual inspections ORNI collated information on 255 outdoor interpretative signs across the three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The majority of signs are located within the Antrim Coast & Glens (152 signs) followed by the Causeway Coast (65 signs) and Binevenagh (38 signs). Figure 1. Location of Outdoor Interpretative Signage Causeway Coast Binevenagh Antrim Coast & Glens 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Quantity 62% of all outdoor interpretative signage inspected during this audit is managed and maintained by either Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council (105) or Mid & East Antrim Borough Council (54). Figure 2. Overview of Management Organisations NI Water, 4 Bushmills Trust, 5 Ulster Wildlife, 1 Castlerock Railway Station, 2 Sustrans, 2 NIEA, 25 RSPB, 9 Causeway Coast & Glens Borough National Trust, 35 Council, 105 Mid & East Antrim Borough Council, 54 Forest Service NI, 3 4 During this audit, ORNI rated the requirement of further signage inspections using a sliding scale of 1 (High Priority) to 5 (Low Priority). As can be seen in the figure below, over 78% of all signage inspected was allocated a priority rating of between 4 and 5 i.e. ‘Low Priority’. Figure 3. Priority of Further Signage Inspections 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 On further analysis, there was a reasonably even split when comparing ‘prority rating’ across each AONB. As shown in Table 1 below, 79.3% of all outdoor interpretative signage located within the Antrim Coast & Glens was allocated a prority rating of between 4 and 5 whereas 78.5% of signage within the Causeway Coast and 76.4% of signage within Binevenagh received this ‘Low Priority’ rating. Table 1. Priority Rating within AONBs 1 2 3 4 5 Antrim Coast & Glens 5.9% 3.3% 12.5% 30% 49.3% Binevenagh 2.6% 2.6% 18.4% 15.9% 60.5% Causeway Coast 1.5% 7.7% 12.3% 20% 58.5% It must be noted however that 5.9% (9 signs) were described as ‘priority 1’ within the Antrim Coast & Glens AONB indicating the immediate requirement of further inspection and/or action by the respective management organisations. 5 4. RECOMMENDATIONS Individual signage report cards can be found in the appendix of this report. However, as over 85% of all outdoor interpretative signage inspected during this audit is managed by four main organisations, ORNI has provided a number of future recommendations below. Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council Whilst the majority of outdoor interpretative signage managed by Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council is of a satisfactory standard, priority should be given to either restoring or removing damaged and/or missing Moyle Way signage. Some town ‘History & Heritage’ panels e.g. Bushmills and Ballycastle, are badly damaged and will potentially need replaced. Interpretative panels located through ‘Cottage Wood’ in Cushendall require cleaning and a number of interpretative panels along the Ballycastle Heritage Trail also require attention. See appendix for more information. In some cases e.g. Swann’s Bridge, Magilligan Point and Portballintrae, updated interpretative signage has been installed alongside old council information points which inevitably leads to some duplication of information for the visitor. Consideration should be given as to the suitability of old and new panels standing side by side and in some cases old council signage should be removed. Mid & East Antrim Borough Council During visual inspections ORNI found most outdoor interpretative signage managed by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council to be of a satisfactory standard. Some issues have been highlighted in Carnlough (above harbour), Carnfunnock Country Park (Causeway Coastal Route signage) and Glenarm Car Park. See Appendix. However the main observation from this audit is that much of the outdoor interpretative signage managed by Mid & East Coast Borough Council could be modernised; this is probably most apparent throughout Carnfunnock Country Park. Many of the ‘Welcome to Larne’ interpretative signs and information points throughout the Antrim Coast & Glens AONB are suffering from housing deterioration and subsequent water damage. These particular signs also all include out-of-date Larne Borough Council logos and are often located either next to or in close proximity to latterly installed Causeway Coastal Route signage. As such, consideration should be given as to the future suitability of these ‘Welcome to Lane’ panels. National Trust Outdoor interpretative signage managed by the National Trust is of an excellent standard across all three AONBs. Signage at Ballyconagan Point (old coastguard station on Rathlin Island) should either be updated or removed and consideration should also be given to an update of the biodiversity interpretation at the Bar Mouth. 6 Northern Ireland Environment

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