What is a CAT scan before digging?

A CAT scan uses a cable avoidance tool, often with a signal generator, to locate buried electricity cables and metal pipes before excavation. Combined with utility records, it reduces the risk of striking a service, and hand digging around anything located is normal practice.

Do you work across Wiltshire or only in Chippenham?

Across all of Wiltshire, and the rest of the UK too. Chippenham is simply one of the places we list, and enquiries from anywhere nearby follow exactly the same steps: photos or a survey, a scaled proof, a written price, then making and fitting once you sign off the design.

Can tenant panels be changed easily?

With slide-in or screw-fixed inserts, panel changes are straightforward, although taller totems still need safe access equipment. Many landlords control changes so the layout stays consistent. We can make replacement panels to the same template when a unit is relet.

What drawings does the council need for a totem?

Councils usually ask for a location plan, a site plan showing the sign's position, and scaled elevations with dimensions, materials, colours and height above ground. For a lit totem, the illumination method and brightness are usually requested too. We can prepare these drawings and photos for you.

Could the consent process affect the timing of my job in Chippenham?

It can. Not every job needs an application, but where express consent is required the council's decision typically takes several weeks, and fitting typically waits until it is granted. We check this at the start, so the timetable you receive with your quote allows for consent where it applies, along with the proof approval stage.

Can I get a fixed price for totem and pylon signs in Chippenham before committing?

Yes. We start from the guide range, £1,950 to £9,800 per totem excluding VAT, then measure up or look at your photos and artwork. That gives a fixed written price reflecting the real size, materials, access and any design or consent work. You only commit once you accept that price and approve the proof.

Totem and pylon signs in Chippenham

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.

What totem and pylon signs can do for businesses in Chippenham

Schools, surgeries and community buildings in Chippenham can use smaller totems at the gate to show names, opening hours and the way in.
Evening guests arriving at Chippenham hotels, restaurants and leisure venues find the entrance more easily when the totem is lit.
If your Chippenham site entrance is close to a busy junction, keeping the totem outside the visibility splay matters as much as its looks.

What totem and pylon signs cost in Chippenham

The figures in this table are guide prices, from £1,950 to £9,800 per totem, and they exclude VAT. They are there to help you plan. A firm price follows the survey or artwork check and is agreed before any work starts.

Totem & pylon signs in Chippenham: guide prices, supplied and fitted
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.

Options for your Chippenham project

Multi-tenant totem

A header panel plus slide-in tenant inserts changed as units are let.

Non-lit pylon, 2.5–4 m

A taller structure readable from a road, on a larger foundation.

Directional totem

Smaller site signs pointing visitors to receptions, bays and buildings.

Totem and pylon signs in Chippenham: 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.

Covering Chippenham and Wiltshire

Our service reaches Chippenham and all of Wiltshire. The first step depends on the job: a site visit for signs that need measuring, fixing or wiring, or a photo-based quote for graphics and lettering where pictures and sizes tell us enough. Postcode districts around Chippenham include SN15. Chippenham is about 16 miles south-west of Swindon.

Also within reach of Chippenham

Totem and pylon signs in Melksham 6 mi
Totem and pylon signs in Trowbridge 10 mi
Totem and pylon signs in Bath 12 mi
Totem and pylon signs in Yate 14 mi
Totem and pylon signs in Swindon 16 mi

Get a free quote for totem and pylon signs: tell us what you need, attach pictures and approximate measurements, and we will come back with a price. Nothing is produced until you have approved the design proof.

More signs in Chippenham

All sign types in Chippenham · Totem and pylon signs across Wiltshire

Typical size	1.5–4 m tall; width set by tenant panels and viewing distance
Fixing / installation	Concrete foundation from structural calculations, CAT-scanned excavation, base plate or cast-in frame
Consent	Usually needs express consent, especially when lit; decisions usually take up to 8 weeks