A totem sign is a free-standing sign on its own foundation, typically 1.5–4 m tall, used at site entrances and car parks to show a business name, tenants or directions where a wall sign won't be seen.
Why choose totem and pylon signs in Cornwall?
- For a Truro dealership or garage set back from a main road, a pylon readable on approach gives drivers time to slow and turn.
- If your Truro site entrance is close to a busy junction, keeping the totem outside the visibility splay matters as much as its looks.
- On an industrial estate around Truro with several entrances, directional totems at each junction point deliveries to the right unit.
Guide prices in Cornwall
Here is the price picture for totem and pylon signs in Cornwall: a guide of £1,950 to £9,800 per totem, with VAT on top. The rows below give more detail. A survey or artwork check comes first, and then we confirm the price in writing.
| Item | Guide, ex VAT | Inc. VAT (20%) |
|---|---|---|
| Totem 1.5–2 m, non-lit | £1,950 – £3,950 | £2,340 – £4,740 |
| Totem 2.5–4 m, non-lit | £3,950 – £7,500 | £4,740 – £9,000 |
| Illuminated totem (lit panels or letters) | £4,950 – £9,800 | £5,940 – £11,760 |
Guide prices, supplied and installed with foundations and excluding VAT, are £1,950 to £3,950 for a non-lit totem 1.5–2 m tall and £3,950 to £7,500 for a non-lit totem 2.5–4 m tall. An illuminated totem with lit panels or letters is guided at £4,950 to £9,800.
Totem and pylon signs in Cornwall: permission and rules
A free-standing totem usually needs express advertisement consent from the council's planning department, especially if it is illuminated, tall or close to a road. In England, decisions usually take up to 8 weeks and consent is normally granted for 5 years. Illuminated totems cannot rely on deemed consent in conservation areas, National Parks, National Landscapes, the Broads or areas of special control. Councils also look at highway safety, so a site plan showing sightlines helps. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own advertisement regulations and application routes. We can prepare the drawings, site plan and photos for an application, or submit it for you.
Options worth considering
Illuminated totem
Internally lit panels or routed and push-through letters with LED modules.
Directional totem
Smaller site signs pointing visitors to receptions, bays and buildings.
Multi-tenant totem
A header panel plus slide-in tenant inserts changed as units are let.
Towns in Cornwall
Find your town in the list to open its page for totem and pylon signs. If it is not listed, ask anyway: our coverage is UK-wide, not limited to these places in Cornwall.
- Totem and pylon signs in Redruth
- Totem and pylon signs in Falmouth
- Totem and pylon signs in St Austell
- Totem and pylon signs in Truro
- Totem and pylon signs in Camborne
- Totem and pylon signs in Newquay
- Totem and pylon signs in Penzance
Parts of Cornwall involve longer journeys, so surveys and fitting are arranged case by case and travel is itemised on your quote.
Ready when you are. Request a free quote for totem and pylon signs in Cornwall and attach whatever you have: snapshots, dimensions, a logo file. We send a scaled drawing, and nothing goes ahead without your sign-off.

