CONTROVERSIAL increases to car parking charges will be coming into force in two weeks.

All-day charges at council owned car parks in West Bay and Lyme Regis are set to rise by quadruple the current price, going from £2 to £8 beginning on Thursday, April 1.

The council says these changes are being implemented to bring West Bay and Lyme Regis in line with other seaside towns in Dorset. Both areas have not seen an increase in the fee since 2014.

The announcement of the price hike garnered huge amounts of criticism when first announced in October - with many business owners, employees and residents believing it is unfair to see such a large increase at one time.

Dorset Council is introducing the changes to claw back some of the £3m which has been lost in parking charges during the pandemic and to make car park charging more comparable across the council area.

Drivers using car parks in those areas will be able to choose to park for one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, six hours or all-day, with one hours parking starting at 50p and the all-day tariff changing to £6 in the low season and £8 during the peak season - April to October inclusive.

For workers who use these car parks, long stay parking permits are available. An original recommendation by the council to extend evening charges from 6pm to 8pm was withdrawn following concerns voiced by many town and parish councils.

Cllr David Rickard, leader of the Bridport Town Council, said: "Parking prices hadn't been raised in quite some time and we were certainly quite cheap compared to a lot of other areas. I don't think people are too surprised about them being raised but it’s just the fact that it is a massive one-off hit.

"People coming to Bridport and West Bay to work, often on lower pay scales, are getting hit the worst. An £8 per day fee for people on minimum wage jobs is just far too much to charge.

"We’re looking into seeing if we can produce some workers passes but the council are very reluctant to have any variation between the towns. Every town in Dorset has different needs but having a one size fits all policy doesn’t do any of them justice."

He added: "We will try to do as much as we can to minimise the impact for both residents and visitors."

Sunday charging will also be introduced in towns where it does not already exist. This will happen in Bridport, Beaminster and Dorchester.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said: "I feel that these changes strike a balance between supporting our town centres and high streets, as well as ensuring charging is fair and can sustain our car parks across the county.

"The standardisation of car park charging times across the council area will provide residents and visitors with a seamless transition from town to town, knowing exactly when they will need to pay at one of our car parks.

"We're continuing our work to make car park charging more comparable across the council area, which will include in depth discussions with town and parish councils and local accessibility groups. This includes exploring the idea of a council-wide shoppers permit." For more information and to buy a parking permit, visit the Dorset Council website.