Parking in Dorset: 70p for 30 minutes, free after 6pm

In most Dorset Council car parks the charging hours are 8am to 6pm, and parking after 6pm is free. That single rule saves more money than any other thing on this page.

It is not universal. Chesil car park on Portland charges 24 hours a day. Most of the on-street bays on Weymouth seafront cost £7.30 between 6pm and 8am. And the coastal car parks run two tariffs, with the summer one close to double the winter one.

Every figure below came from Dorset Council’s own car park and on-street charging pages on 24 August 2026. Tariffs at town and parish council car parks are set separately, so check the signs.

The standard town tariff

Most inland town-centre car parks share one tariff. It applies at Fairfield and Top O’ Town in Dorchester, Culverhayes in Sherborne, East Street in Bridport, Marsh and Ham in Blandford Forum, and Allenview in Wimborne Minster.

Charges apply Monday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm. Free 6pm to 8am.

Two towns are cheaper than the standard:

• Chantry Fields, Gillingham (78 spaces): 70p, 90p, £1.20, £1.70, £2.70 and £4.20 for the same steps. Ten hours costs £2.10 less than in Dorchester.
• Coppice Street, Shaftesbury (26 spaces): 50p, £1, £1.50, £2.20, £3.50 and £6. It is owned by Shaftesbury Town Council, not Dorset Council.

The coast: two tariffs, and one that is cheaper all year

Weymouth, Lyme Regis and Portland run seasonal pricing. Summer runs 1 April to 31 October, which means the higher rate is in force now.

Lodmoor in Weymouth and Holmbush in Lyme Regis both charge:

The Swannery car park in Weymouth does not have a summer tariff at all. It is the largest in the county at 915 spaces, and it charges 80p, £1.50, £2.30, £3.30, £5.30 and £9 for ten hours, every day of the year, with the usual 6pm to 8am free period. In August that makes a full day at the Swannery £6.80 cheaper than the same day at Lodmoor.

Chesil car park on Portland is the exception to the free evening. Its 616 spaces are charged “Monday to Sunday at all times”. Ten hours costs £15.80 in summer and £9.50 in winter, and a full 24 hours costs £20 in summer and £14 in winter.

Free car parks

Three Dorset Council car parks are free, all of them in the Weymouth and Portland area:

• Southill, Weymouth (DT4 9RT): 87 spaces, maximum stay 72 hours
• Masonic, Portland (DT5 1AR): 123 spaces, maximum stay 72 hours, no return within 24 hours
• New Ground, Portland

Motorhomes are not permitted at any of them between 10pm and 8am, which is the rule across the whole council estate.

On-street: where the free evening stops

This is the part that costs people money, because the rule is not the same street to street.

Weymouth. Of the eight on-street pay and display areas the council lists, six charge £7.30 between 6pm and 8am: Pilgrims Way, South Parade, Trinity Road, The Esplanade, Alexander Gardens and Custom House Quay. Two are free overnight: The Esplanade (Northern End) and Westham Bridge. In the day those six cost £2.80 for 30 minutes and £4.60 for an hour, with a one-hour maximum. The northern end of the Esplanade allows four hours, at £4.60, £6.30, £8.10 and £10.90.

Dorchester. Every on-street bay costs £1.70 for one hour in the day, and one hour is the maximum. Overnight, five are free and twelve are not.

Swanage. Station Road is £1.20 for 30 minutes, £1.70 for an hour, and free overnight. Shore Road is £4.60 for an hour rising to £21.70 for ten, and £7.30 overnight.

Wareham. St Johns Hill, Church Green and The Quay all charge £1.70 for one hour up to £4.20 for four, and all three are free overnight.

Blandford Forum. Market Place and Sheep Market Hill, £1.70 for one hour, maximum stay one hour, free overnight.

All of these are listed on the council’s on-street pay and display charges pages.

Permits

On-street resident permits are virtual and run by MiPermit. From the council’s resident permit page:

• £52.50 for six months, £89.50 for twelve
• Visitor permits come in blocks of 20 for £26.50, up to 100 a year, each valid 24 hours
• Residents over 60 can get 50% off visitor permits with proof of age
• Bridport has no visitor permits at all, though it has five resident zones

Zones exist in Bridport, Dorchester, Gillingham, Lyme Regis, Sherborne, Sturminster Newton and Weymouth. The street-by-street list is on the council’s permit zones page.

Car park permits are separate from resident permits:

• Short stay permit, £100 a year. One three-hour session a day in most council car parks, two vehicles registered to it, only one parked at a time. You do not have to live in Dorset. The council’s own worked example: two three-hour visits a week at Fairfield in Dorchester would cost £249.60 a year at the meter, so the permit saves £149.60.
• Flexi stay permit. Unlimited stay in a named list of larger car parks, including Dorchester Fairfield, Weymouth Swannery and Wimborne Allenview, plus one three-hour session a day at smaller sites. The council does not publish the price on its flexi stay pages, so this page cannot give it.
• Tradesperson waiver, £17 a day. Case by case, and not guaranteed.

Blue badge: you still pay

This catches people out, because it is not how many councils work. Pay and display charges apply to Blue Badge holders in Dorset Council car parks. The badge does not make parking free.

What it does give you, from the council’s restricted mobility permit page:

• If you pay for a session, you get one extra hour free, usable in any bay including a disabled bay. Display the badge and set the clock to your arrival time.
• A Restricted Mobility Car Park Permit costs £19 and gives three hours free, once a day, in any bay. It expires when your Blue Badge does.

The £19 permit is only open to Blue Badge holders on the higher rate mobility component of DLA, ten points or more on the moving around section of PIP, the higher rate mobility component of Child Disability Payment, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement, Armed Forces Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance, or with a vehicle that is tax exempt on disability grounds.

It is valid in every Dorset Council car park and at three country parks: Avon Heath, Moors Valley and Thorncombe Wood. Private and town council car parks set their own Blue Badge rules, so read the signs.

The Blue Badge itself costs £10 and is renewed every three years.

Station parking at Weymouth

Weymouth station has two car parks, and the gap between them is large. South Western Railway publishes both tariffs:

Parking is free for Blue Badge holders who register with the operator. Neither car park has CCTV.

Paying, and fines

Dorset Council car parks take cash, card, the JustPark app, and phone payment. Two fees are worth knowing:

• Paying through JustPark by app, phone or text adds a 10p convenience fee.
• Paying by phone on 01305 235498 adds a 6p booking fee. A confirmation text is free; a reminder when your time is running out costs 10p.

On a penalty charge notice, you have 28 days to pay and a 50% discount if you pay within 14 days.

Local traps worth knowing

• Fairfield, Dorchester. The gates on the covered area are locked from 7pm to 6am. Park under cover in the evening and you cannot get the car out until morning. The covered area is also closed most of Wednesday for the market and used for a car boot sale on Sundays.
• Culverhayes, Sherborne. The 2.1 metre height barrier is locked between 6pm and 8am. A roof box or a van can be shut in.
• Marsh and Ham, Blandford Forum. The lower section sits inside a flood alleviation scheme, and the Environment Agency raises barriers when a flood warning is issued. The number for a vehicle trapped behind them is 03708 506506.
• Lodmoor, Weymouth. The car park itself is open 7am to midnight, but the country park gates are locked from 6pm between April and October, and from 4pm between November and March, until 9am.
• Motorhomes are banned from every Dorset Council car park between 10pm and 8am, including the free ones.

Where else to check

• Dorset roadworks and travel
• Dorset bin collection days
• Dorset council tax bands