VISITORS to Swindon will be greeted by 12 new boundary signs which will be installed around the borough during the next few weeks, at a cost of £40,000.

The signs, which feature the town's official coat of arms as well as brown tourist symbols for Swindon's country parks, museums and Lydiard House, will be staked on major arterial routes into the borough.

They will replace the weather-worn existing examples which have welcomed drivers to the town for as many as 19 years.

Swindon Borough Council leader, Councillor David Renard (Con, Haydon Wick), said: “Our boundary signs have looked increasingly tired and tatty as the years have gone by and everyone agreed they weren’t the best advert for Swindon.

“Now the budget for replacing them is available, we’ve taken the opportunity within the strict regulations for highway signage to have a consistent design which is clean and clear, and reminds everyone of our long-standing and valued links with other towns elsewhere in the world.

"Swindon has prospered because it has always connected with the world outside its borders, from the age of Brunel onwards."

The new signs also highlight Swindon's twinning with Salzgitter in Germany and Ocotal in Nicaragua, and links with Torun in Poland.

Coun Stan Pajak (Lib, Eastcott), Liberal Democrat group leader at the council, who has been heavily involved in the twinning group, said: “I am so pleased my call for new boundary signs for Swindon incorporating our Polish partner city of Torun has finally been realised. Faded signs incorporating our twin towns are not a great advert for Swindon. The new signs will help both promote our town to visitors and show the pride we have in it.”

Signs on the A419 and the M4 will not be replaced, since these are owned and managed by the Highways Agency.

The £40,000 budget for the new signs was found from the council's highways budget.

But Anne Snelgrove, the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for South Swindon, said the budget allocated for the boundary signs was inappropriate in a time of austerity.

She said: "I think this is an excessive amount of money to spend on boundary times at time when the council is in a huge amount of debt and they're closing the children;s centres.

"I really think they should re-think about their spending priorities."

Andy Bentley, the Green Party candidate for Gorse Hill and Pinehurst, agreed, querying why the cash was not spent on more pressing highways work.

"I wonder how many people realise that these signs even exist," he said. "While they might be pretty they are hardly at the top of the list of priorities for most Swindon residents."

Coun Renard said investing in keeping Swindon proud of itself was important and the expense was a one-off cost.

He said: "This was a one-off expense, it's not an ongoing revenue cost and the money was their in the capital budget.

"I think the image of Swindon and the pride that people have in Swindon is important so replacing 20-year-old signs that have become tatty and dirty over the years is a good way to promote Swindon."

Locations for the new signs:

A346 Chiseldon

B4019 Coleshill

Tadpole Lane Bridge

A4259 Marlborough Road

A361 Lechlade

B4192 Liddington

Purton Road

A420 Acorn Bridge

A4311 Thamesdown Drive

A4361 Gadbourne Bridge nr Wroughton

A4312 Blagrove

Wanborough Road