Sheppey's battle for brown motorway tourist signs could be nearing the end of the road.

Islanders like Jenny Hurkett, who runs the Criterion Theatre and heritage centre in Blue Town, have been campaigning for nearly 20 years to have signs installed on the M2 at the A249 turn-off for Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Maidstone.

But after hitting a brick wall, she handed the baton to Oasis Academy founder Steve Chalke and the Sheppey Community Development Forum two years ago.

Mike Whiting, who works for Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson and is a Kent and Swale councillor, told members on Tuesday last week: "This has truly been a marathon, not a sprint, but we are getting there. There has been a massive step forward. We now have a route map to establish a Tourist Information Centre in Sheerness which Highways England insisted on. We are now assembling the pieces of this very complex jigsaw."

But he added: "This has taken up an inordinate amount of time. It has been like the children's book We're Going On A Bear Hunt. We have had to go over, go under and go round all the hurdles Highways England has thrown at us."

Deirdre Wells, the boss of Visit Kent which supports the bid, added: "This has been a real test of our mental resilience and a challenge to prove we are serious about tourism."

Visit Britain must now formally recognise a seven-day-a-week Tourist Information Centre which Sheppey FM's Julie Nicholls has agreed to host at the studios on Sheerness seafront. KCC has agreed to pay for the centre's signage.

The application also needs proof that Sheppey attracts 250,000 visitors a year.

But Cllr Whiting said: "I think we can get that down to between 150,000 to 180,000 if we have a Tourist Centre. Sheppey also has sites of international importance, such as the first steel-framed building in Sheerness dockyard, the nature reserve and sites of special scientific interest on the cliffs which could reduce that number further."

Cllr Elliott Jayes said some of Swale council's £250,000 Sheppey Improvement Fund could go towards paying for the motorway signs which could cost up to £40,000 each.

As far back as July 2009 the Island's local paper the Sheerness Times Guardian has been lobbying for the signs to tell drivers about the Isle of Sheppey. The current signs only mention the main town of Sheerness. The new signs will highlight the Island's nature reserves, beaches and maritime history.

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