9.4 Street furniture and signage

As few physical interventions in the street, known as street clutter, should be made as possible. Opportunities should be taken to reduce and rationalise, for example by integrating furniture, such as post boxes, into buildings, and only using signs where strictly necessary.

Street furniture must be placed where it will provide the most utility, for example when placing benches, consideration should be given to where people will find it most comfortable to sit. This is generally at the edges of public spaces, not backing on to busy roads, close to shops and amenities, or simply somewhere with a good view.

Where signs are required, they should be attached to buildings or other structures, such as lamp posts, or grouped to reduce the number of posts required.

Street furniture, signage and bollards must be of a scale and appearance that is appropriate and in keeping with the local character.

Street nameplates must be provided, but should be positioned on all corners, ideally mounted on buildings.

Street furniture should also be in keeping with its environment.

It should not impede pedestrian movement in the street and should aim to improve the street visually.

It must not obstruct the pavement or reduce width below 1.5 metre, and only for a distance of no more than 6m.

Where possible items should be placed within a ‘furniture zone’ to provide a continuous full width pavement. This should factor in buffer space around an object to allow for the ‘footprint in use’ which results from intended or unintended use.

In urban areas and town centre conservation areas street furniture should be painted black, while timber furniture may be more appropriate for rural context. Further guidance on the appropriate appearance of furniture and street signage in rural settings can be found within the Surrey Hills Environmental Design Guidance [Reference 41].

Street furniture such as cycle racks, planters and bins can serve a useful dual purpose by preventing vehicles encroaching onto pavements in combination and providing narrowing of the carriageway. In these locations, the furniture may need protecting with bollards. Containment kerbs, high edge kerbs (140mm or more) or boulders in rural settings can also be used.

Pedestrian guard rails must not be used to separate the pavement and the carriageway, instead softer and more permeable solutions, such as trees and greenery, should be used.

References

• Reference 41: Surrey Hills AONB (2019) Environmental Design Guidance (Return to content for reference 41).