Dorset Council is to be told that their plan for a county-wide three tier parking system does not recognise the complexity of the issue across the area.

Dorchester town councillor Susie Hosford said she failed to understand why the Dorset Council parking review was "hell bent" on the tier system with common charges at three levels across the whole county – with seaside and popular visitor sites at up to £10 a day; less for market towns in the next category and villages and rural car parks generally the cheapest.

"It's just a joke. It won't simplify it at all…it should be different for each town," she said.

Other members of the town's planning and environment agreed, with some calling for more information about the proposed changes.

Said Cllr Molly Rennie: "We're being asked to do this bit by bit. We don't know what will happen yet about residential parking on the streets – but they've obviously got a bit of a plan. We need the whole picture."

Also against the proposed three tiers was Cllr Ralph Ricardo who argued that each town needed to be considered separately. He said that in Dorchester, where there was a inward migration of workers each day, it was relatively easy to find free on street parking and still be able to walk into town – while in Weymouth to park for free and walk to the beach or town centre was impossible for most.

Cllr Stella Jones called for separate long and short stay parking to remain while mayor Cllr Gareth Jones said the proposed charges were not unreasonable, compared to other areas, but said people would always make a judgement about what was worth paying for.

The view was not shared by Cllr Janet Hewitt who said that for many families a £10 per day parking fee on top of the cost of a day out would put many people off visiting some Dorset locations.

"It's the wrong time at the moment to put charges up. We want people to come and enjoy Dorchester and support our facilities," she said.

Other parking issues included the small buttons on new parking machines which people with arthritis find difficult to use; the positioning of the keypads which many found awkward to read; the lack of any 'pay on exit' council car parks and a charging structure which forces users to pay for far more time than they needed, or risk a fine.