Increased parking fees advertised after outcry

Increased parking charges are being advertised after a council dropped planned new overnight fees.

The Dorset Council fees vary from about 50p an hour to more than £30 for a day's parking.

Following public outcry the authority abandoned a proposal for new overnight charges in areas where they did not exist before, but night-time parking charges will remain in many places.

The authority said most of the new charges were roughly in line with inflation, although some appear, from the council's own advertising, to have risen by more.

Dorset Council has said it would carry out a complete review of all car parking fees during the course of this year.

It wants to look again at what, in effect, is three tiers of parking charges – the most expensive being at coastal resorts, followed by market towns and the lowest rates for more rural areas and some urban fringes.

The tier structure and new charges led to a 7,000-plus signature public petition in Weymouth last year, with claims that local people were being penalised for living near a beach.

For this year the authority has promised to continue "winter fees" at three main car parks – Weymouth's Swannery, West Bay and Charmouth Road, Lyme Regis, although there has been arguments opposing the choice of the three car parks and the continuation of the lower fees.

On-street parking charges shown in the new schedule, vary from place to place with no overnight parking charge in some areas, but not others.

The full details of all the changes can be found on the Dorset Council website.

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