Residents are being urged to have their say on car parking proposals which could increase all day charges in some Dorset Council car parks to £10.

As part of the parking transformation project, which seeks to standardise car park prices across the council area, the council wants to know what residents think about a new car park permit that is being developed so Dorset's residents, workers and businesses aren't left out of pocket by the proposed new pricing.

There is a proposed three tier pricing structure for car parks:

• Level one pricing - in smaller more rural car parks, is proposed to start at 50p for 30 minutes and rise incrementally to £4 for all day. This includes Beaminster, Charmouth and West Bexington
• Level two pricing - in market towns and shopping destination car parks, is proposed to start at 50p for 30 minutes and will have incremental rises up to £6 for all day. This includes Bridport ad Dorchester
• Level three pricing - in visitor destination car parks, is proposed to have the same pricing as level two car parks in the low season. In the high season - April 1 to October 31 - prices are proposed to start at £1 for 30 minutes and rise incrementally up to £10 for all day. This includes West Bay, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, Portland and Corfe Castle

The proposed annual residents, workers and businesses car park permit would allow drivers to park in specified Dorset Council car parks throughout the year. Residents are encouraged to take the survey regarding the cost of the permit, which will be confirmed once feedback has been analysed.

Town and parish councillors and community representatives in stakeholder groups are being asked to comment on the proposed tiered car park pricing structure.

Dorset Council hopes to present the final proposals to the place and resources overview committee on October and to Cabinet in November, with a view to introduce new parking charges in January 2022.

Cllr Ray Bryan, portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said: "We want a pricing strategy that works for as many people as possible and brings consistency in parking charges across the Dorset Council area.

"We also want to mitigate the impact of any price changes on Dorset's residents, workers and shoppers by offering discounted parking through a new permit.

"We've worked extremely hard on benchmarking our prices and checking the cost of parking when compared to our neighbours and similar locations. This included looking at prices in the BCP area, as well as in visitor destinations like Torquay and Weston-Super-Mare.

"We're trying to get the right balance so that costs are not so high that our car parks are under-used and people are pushed into parking on residential roads, but not so low that drivers cannot find a space to park or choose to drive rather than using more sustainable form of travel.

"We also want our peak season charges to be aimed at visitors by making them comparable to prices at similar destinations in the south. Our proposed Dorset parking permit will protect our residents and workers from paying these higher prices.

"We'll be gathering comments from residents, stakeholder groups, parish and town councillors and Dorset Council members, so please take the time to complete the permit survey and/or speak with your local town, parish or Dorset councillor to find out more about this work developing the new parking charges."

Proposals are also for on-street parking changes to be made more consistent, following the same three-tier approach. These spaces will be charged at a higher price than compared to the same tier car park price. This is to generate a higher turnover of cars for the spaces.

Waivers can still be purchased for tradespeople who need to park for work. Blue badges will be reviewed separately to these proposals, as will health care permits.

You can complete the Survey here.

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