An initiative has been launched to ensure the Yorkshire dales of Wensleydale and Swaledale are signposted from the new A1 motorway.
Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond, says it is vital that the proximity of the popular dales and also the town of Richmond are indicated by brown tourism signs from the new road.
The A1 is currently being upgraded to a three-lane motorway between Leeming Bar and Barton, near Scotch Corner, in a £380m scheme. It is on course to be completed in June next year.
Mr Sunak said: “I want to make sure the two Dales and also Richmond are signposted from the new road.
“The upgraded A1 is a tremendous economic boost for northern North Yorkshire and I want to ensure that the benefit is spread as widely as possible.”
He said that new signage schemes would be drawn up for junctions on the new road and this was the ideal opportunity to have signs for the two dales created most cost effectively.
He added that following a meeting with local area director for Highways England he had written to department asking that tourism signs be incorporated into the plans for signs at the new junctions.
Mr Sunak has been backed in his request by the leaders of the two local authorities covering the area,
County Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “Tourism is such a vital and growing part of the economy in North Yorkshire. It makes sense to tell visitors to the area that they are close to some of the most beautiful landscapes in Britain.”
As the former owner of the tourism-related business, he said he appreciated the value of adequate signage in driving trade.
Cllr Yvonne Peacock, leader of Richmondshire District Council, said: “Wensleydale, Swaledale and Richmond are reliant on visitors. So many jobs depend on them. Anything we can do to tell people of the delights the upgraded road will make accessible will be a bonus for so many businesses.”
The issue was originally brought to Mr Sunak’s attention by constituent Kate Empsall, of Askrigg in Wensleydale.
She said tourism businesses in Wensleydale had been seeking such signs from the old A1 for many years but the cost had been prohibitive.
She added: “When travelling along motorways in different parts of the country small nature reserves
are signed, so why not the huge Yorkshire Dales National Park, and Wensleydale?”
Mrs Empsall, who used to run a bed and breakfast business in Wensleydale, said she was pleased local politicians were taking up the issue.
The town of Masham fought a six-year battle to have tourism signs erected following the upgrading of the Dishforth-Leeming stretch of the A1 in 2012 which led to the closure of its dedicated junction on the old A1.
A campaign, which involved Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, convinced the then Road Minister Mike Penning that the town met the strict Highways England criteria for brown tourism signs. The £7,000 cost was met by Masham Parish Council and local businesses.
Richmond has been signposted as “Historic Richmond” on brown tourism signs from the old A1 junction at Scotch Corner for many years. Those signs have now been removed as part of the upgrading works and it is understood a fresh application will have to be made by the local highway authority to have them replaced.