The town of Twatt marked a significant moment in its civic history on Thursday as four car park directional signs were installed on the high street, concluding a process that began in the autumn of 2014. The signs, which indicate the direction of the town's two car parks, were welcomed by residents who described the development as "about time" and "genuinely upsetting." Councillor Herbert Pratt (Lib Dem), who chairs the Twatt Parish Signage and Wayfinding Subcommittee — which was itself established in 2015 specifically to oversee the project — said the council was proud of the outcome.

"You see, signage placement is important," Councillor Pratt told this publication. "Before we placed the signs we needed to follow the correct processes. We needed to get approval from the planning committee, an impact statement from the local minority populations so as to avoid offence, and of course a third party impact assessment of whether these signs would affect local wildlife."

The minority population impact statement was commissioned in 2016 from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultancy Meridian Inclusive Solutions Ltd, at a cost of £57,490. The report, which runs to 340 pages, concluded that directional signage was broadly acceptable provided the arrow symbols did not inadvertently evoke any culturally significant gestures. A supplementary addendum addressing this concern was commissioned in 2018 at an additional cost of £12,750.

The wildlife impact assessment was awarded to Hargreaves Environmental Consulting Partners LLP of Guildford, at a cost of £148,956. The firm's report, delivered in March 2021 after eighteen months of site visits, concluded that the proposed signs posed no material threat to local fauna. A supplementary assessment was commissioned later that year after a hedgehog was observed within four metres of the proposed installation site. That assessment, also conducted by Hargreaves Environmental Consulting Partners LLP, cost £34,500 and reached the same conclusion. The hedgehog has not been seen since.

The signs themselves cost £340. They were manufactured in three days by a firm in Wolverhampton. Total project expenditure, including administrative costs, subcommittee meeting expenses, a awayday for the Signage and Wayfinding Subcommittee held at a hotel in Harrogate in 2017, and catering for seventeen consultation events, came to £298,437.

"Value for money is difficult to quantify" said Councillor Pratt, "but I would argue that doing things properly is always value for money."

A tenth sign, intended for the junction of Twatt High Street and the B4731, remains subject to ongoing consultation. Councillor Pratt expressed confidence that the process could be concluded within the current parliamentary term. "We are making extremely good progress," he said.

When asked whether a decade was a reasonable timeframe for car park signage, Councillor Pratt said that he understood the question but that proper process existed for good reason and that corners, once cut, had a tendency to remain cut.

He then spoke for a further eleven minutes about the hedge at number 14. The car parks are open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm. Sunday parking remains under review. A consultation on Sunday parking hours is expected to conclude by 2029.