Delight as new sign welcomes visitors to Midhurst

The corten steel planter and entrance sign were placed at the northern end of the town on Tuesday (November 8).

Cllr Jeanette Sutton has been working on the project since before the pandemic, with ongoing discussions with South Downs National Park, Midhurst Vision, The Midhurst Society and the Town Council, who made the final decision to have a large corten steel sign with the words 'Midhurst' and below 'heart of the South Downs National Park' in white painted steel.

"It is long overdue,” she said. “It was a very long time in planning. We were expecting the planning permission to come through in weeks and it ended up taking many many months.

“I am just so glad we got it done in time before the winter starts. It will give an appropriate and impressive sign for the entrance to the centre of the town.

"It just needs the planting now. It’s looking a bit bleak at the moment but next week the planting will start and while it will take a while to look beautiful, it will look very beautiful.”

Shrubs, bulbs and wild flower seeds will bloom to bring colour to the sign, which was designed to take inspiration from the South Downs National Park boundary signs.

The original concept was designed by Cllr Sutton and finished by Peter Anderson.

The sign has already received high praise from Midhurst residents who said on social media that it looks ‘amazing’ and ‘fantastic’.