The Signs, they are a changing…

By Julia Clively MIPROW Senior Environment Officer – Access, Government of Jersey

Jersey’s countryside along with its wonderful wildlife is one of the Islands most treasured assets. An extensive network of around 200 km of paths, cross public and private land taking people into some of the Island’s most beautiful landscapes. It is estimated that the paths are used by around 100,000 people a year including local walkers and tourists and help to meet broader strategic agendas for healthy living and improved quality of life. In addition, results from Visit Jersey’s 2022 Exit Survey show that 62% of tourists went for a walk along a coastal or inland footpath, which indicates that the paths bring significant economic benefits to the Island.

The Government of Jersey, Natural Environment manages 70 km of public access to the Jersey countryside across public and private land. In addition, there are a number of other agencies that have interest in providing public access to the Island’s network of paths including the National Trust for Jersey, Jersey National Park and Jersey Heritage. The Jersey Access Service Providers (JASP) is a group set up to bring together stakeholders with the aim of working collaboratively to deliver the Countryside Access Strategy 2016 and to develop an improved network of paths and tracks to benefit our Island. By working in partnership, coordinated, targeted objectives can be achieved, and expertise, effort and costs shared.

Carefully planned signage is recognised as one of the most important tools for the management of responsible access to the countryside. In simple terms it is an effective method of communication between those who own or manage land and those who access it.

Much of Jersey's countryside interpretation is over ten years old. In many cases existing signs are in poor condition, and interpretation boards are faded or damaged beyond repair. A lack of joined up working by various service providers in the past has resulted in inconsistently branded information. In various surveys and consultations, poor countryside signage has been frequently highlighted by Islanders as an issue.

The Government of Jersey with the support of JASP commissioned the development of a signage toolkit and overarching countryside visual language for use by groups in Jersey who offer public access to areas of land (many areas which are protected under Site of Special Interest (SSI) designation due to their sensitive nature). The aim is to ensure that the impact of signs on the landscape is minimised and messages are consistent and positive.

The first signs are due to be installed at Les Landes Site of Special Interest in the spring.