AN 'unbelievable' £27,350 has been spent on six tourism signs in Malvern.

The first sign was installed in November, as part of the Great Malvern: Route to the Hills project.

A lectern sign, which cost £2,350, and five monolith signs, at £5,000 each, have been erected at 'key sites' around Malvern.

Malvern Hills District Council is leading the project, which has been mainly funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Paul Tuthill, a town and county councillor, said: "It's really an expensive way of finding a route around the town.

"It's not good value. Anything over £10,000 [on the signs] is an outrage.

"My overall question is 'what have we got for this enormous amount of money?'

"It's lunacy that they are costing that much, it's unbelievable. It's way over what it should be."

Mr Tuthill said the money could have been spent keeping Malvern's Tourist Information Centre in its present location.

Town councillor Patrick Mewton added: "They are worth nothing in my opinion. Whoever signed the cheque for them needs their head examining.

"We should have signs on the Hills saying come down to Malvern for a cup of coffee.

"People come out to the Hills to walk and don't come to Malvern. They spend nothing in Malvern. We need to get the tourists in."

The signs are located at the corner of Station Gardens, the corner of Avenue Road and Albert Road North, two in Priory Park, Belle Vue Island and the entrance to Rose Bank Gardens.

The Great Malvern: Route to the Hills project received a £482,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The aim of the project is to guide people from Great Malvern Station through the town and to the Hills.

In the coming months a gateway, welcome signs, wall plaques, floor plaques, creative commissions and bespoke benches will be added to the route.

Phil Merrick, head of economy and communities at the district council, thinks the signs will appeal to visitors and encourage them to spend money in the town.

"[The signs] not only provide visitors with route information but tell many of the area’s stories of interest," he said.

"Rather than installing standard street furniture which you can find in most towns it was chosen to develop bespoke displays unique to the area."

He added that the displays have been developed by partners representing local authorities and community groups.

The district council is one of 10 partners carrying out the project.