SHOP owners, café managers and councillors have hit out against an 'outrageous' hike in car parking charges with prices at some sites increasing four fold.

Reviewing its controversial car park proposals announced in October, Dorset Council has decided to drop the move to introduce evening car park charges until 8pm – although Sunday charges will still be introduced for the first time.

And in a shock move, the council has decided to further increase all-day charges in council owned car parks in West Bay and Lyme Regis.

Prices at these sites will now quadruple, rather than double as originally suggested – going up from £2 to £8. It will come into effect in February. The council says it is to bring West Bay and Lyme Regis in line with other seaside towns in Dorset – both areas have not had an increase in the fee since 2014.

But there is anger at the huge price hike – usually increases are implemented over a period of time.

Jake Neal, manager of the Watch House Café at West Bay, said: “It will impact local businesses for sure. We’re trying to encourage customers to come down and support businesses and this will just put them off. People won’t pay that much; they will most likely stay at home.”

James Dixon, co-owner of Lyme Regis gift shop, Persuasion, said: “I think it’s ridiculous to hike up the charges by 400 per cent. It’s bad news for the town. People come from all over to visit and the less well-off will be excluded."

He added: “Everyone’s been hit hard by Covid and to put these charges on top is outrageous. It will be damaging to both traders and customers.”

Sean O’Shea, general manager of the Lyme Bay Café and Bar, said: “I think it’s outrageous. It will definitely hurt local businesses. We’re already struggling with the lockdowns and the tier system, I don't understand why they would be adding these parking increases on top of everything.

“If they are all year round it will really impact the locals more than anyone else. It will cost me £40 a week just to park for work.”

Dorset Council highways portfolio holder, Cllr Ray Bryan, said because of the pandemic, the council was facing a £3 million drop in car park income while its maintenance and running costs remained the same.

Cllr David Rickard, leader of the Bridport Town Council, said: “We’re very concerned about the jump in charges.

“The main problem appears to be that the council cabinet has made the decision before putting it out to consultation.

"It is a huge leap in price, in most situations those charges would be phased over a period of time.

"There will be an increase in on-street parking – we’ve spent a lot of time trying to encourage people not to park on these streets and this will only lead to it going back the other way."

Cllr Rickard also stated that the town council will be looking into concessions for those most affected and workers passes.

He added: "People working in the service industry have no choice but to buy an all day ticket if the car parks are full and £8 per-day for someone on minimum-wage job is a huge amount."