NEW Welcome to Camelford signs have been approved and installed by Cornwall Council’s Highways team, writes Suzanne Cleave.

The signs are part of the Mary Portas grant scheme to increase footfall in town centres — it has been run locally by the Camelford Town Team and is supported by the town council.

A spokesman said: “With the recent loss of three banks, Camelford needs to promote everything that is special about it, and the new signs are part of this plan.”

A new logo has been developed that celebrates Camelford’s historic market charter of 1259 and the key position of the town as the nearest to Bodmin Moor.

As part of the goal to increase footfall in Camelford, the Town Team made a successful bid to become an accredited member of the national organisation Walkers are Welcome. It is the nearest town to one of the most dramatic and unspoilt open countryside areas in the South of England and is therefore the Gateway to Bodmin Moor.

Several new walk booklets have been produced and it has been reported that there is already a notable increase in the number of walkers seen in town.

The new signs, which have been placed at each of the three main roads into Camelford, remind drivers as they come into town that walkers are welcome.

The next step is to put up another sign nearer to the town centre with brown logos for tourists that draw attention to the many facilities that Camelford has — such as Enfield Park, the leisure centre, historic buildings and most importantly, free parking.