Council to hear petition on Weymouth's 'rip off' parking charges

It calls for an immediate change to the fees paid to park in many of the resort’s council-owned car parks – bringing them in line with other towns, including Dorchester.

The petition claims the new charges are “unfair, unreasonable and unjustifiable.”

“Local residents and visitors have to pay three times those of other towns in the county,” claims the petition.

“Two hours parking in Dorchester, Blandford, Bridport and Wimborne costs £1.50. In Weymouth, this price is £4.50. For example, a busy mum wanting to nip to the shops and maybe have a coffee with a friend, she would have to pay £6 for 3hrs in Weymouth but only £2.20 in Dorchester! How is that fair? Car Park charges are a small tax that we all pay for the right to park for a short time in our towns. IT should be fair and equal and not discriminate against one sector or group over another. But this is exactly what Dorset Council have done, penalising Weymouth residents and visitors against those living in or visiting other Dorset towns.

Weymouth is subsidising the cheaper parking elsewhere in the county and is disproportionately paying more into the council’s coffers than other towns.”

The petition goes on to claim that the charges are directly affecting people’s leisure time and discretionary spending and harming Weymouth businesses in retail, hospitality, and amusements.

“The fact that Weymouth is a seaside town and visitor attraction is totally irrelevant as holidaymakers should not be ripped off any more than Weymouth residents. Maybe cheaper parking will encourage more visitors and for those to stay longer. The petition is not about the public transport, Park and Ride, street parking, supermarket parking, cycling, walking or any other form of transport. It is about the right to park your car in Weymouth and not pay three times the rate of other towns. This petition requests Dorset Council to reduce the carpark charges in Weymouth to those of other towns with immediate effect.”

* The petition was spearheaded by Nigel Sims-Duff from the Palm House café, pictured above at County Hall, who told the Echo he had collected 1,750 signatures on a paper petition plus a further 5,589 names through an online petition.

Mr Sims-Duff first highlighted his concerns about parking charges in a Dorset Echo story in May.

Dorset Council has previously told the Echo: “As is the case for everyone, we are unfortunately faced with rising costs and we announced in March that we would need to meet these by increasing the cost of parking in some of our car parks.

“We have aimed to keep the impact on residents and businesses to a minimum, with not all tariffs increasing. For example, in Weymouth Governors Lane, Cozens Quay and Council offices car park prices have not increased, and our permits for residents, businesses and workers also bring significant savings.

“Our Short Stay permit enabling two hours parking in many of our car parks every day costs £78 a year, so if even just used for two hours a week that is £1.50 a time.

“Our Flexi car park permit parking permit, giving unlimited parking in the majority of our car parks costs £25 if purchased for a month, or £260 for 12 months, the equivalent of £5 a week for year-round parking.

“No one welcomes price increases, especially during times of rising living costs, so we have designed the increases and permits to have the least impact on Dorset residents, workers, and businesses.”