FRUSTRATIONS have been voiced over new proposed parking permits for shoppers which would be more than double the price of the current scheme.

Those wanting to purchase a permit to park and shop in the town centre look set to be stung by a new charge from January 2022.

Dorset Council, which has recently introduced controversial increases in car parking charges, has now also proposed new short stay parking permits which it believes will ‘benefit everybody’.

Residents of Bridport and the surrounding area are currently able to purchase a West Dorset area shopper’s short stay parking permit for £32 per year.

The proposed ‘Pop and Shop’ permit available to all in the county, which would cover the entire Dorset Council area and replace the West Dorset permit, would cost £78 per year.

Both permits allow for up to two hours of parking per day.

Bridport resident Adrian Smith, said: “We already have a shoppers’ short stay parking permit at a cost of £32 per annum, so Dorset Council’s ‘support’ to we residents is actually a 143 per cent increase in price.

“I accept that the new permit is Dorset wide instead of just the west Dorset local area, but how many of us only want such a permit for our local area? The vast majority, I imagine.

“It seems to me a kick in the teeth rather than an act of goodwill. I shall certainly not be buying it.”

This proposal comes after car park charges at Dorset Council car parks at West Bay and Lyme Regis were quadrupled, going up from £2 per day to £8 per day.

In June, a new pricing structure was proposed by the council to standardise costs across the country - which would see car parks in the Bridport town centre rise to £6 per day, and 50p per 30 minutes.

Gill Crump, owner of clothing stop Instant Redress on East Street, said: “People certainly won’t be happy about the price hike in addition to the general parking increases in price.

“Even disregarding the price, parking permits don’t work if there isn’t enough space to park. It does not guarantee you a space so you’re paying out money for something you don’t know if you’ll be able to use.

“I’ve been in Bridport for around 36 years and there has never been a sufficient amount of parking and now there’s hundreds more people about to be housed in the area, so we’re going to need more places to park.”

She added: “I’d love to say this is the solution to the problem but it isn’t. All that will happen as a result is illegal parking or parking blocking drives which will anger local people.”

Leader of Bridport Town Council Cllr Dave Rickard, said: “You have to take into account that the council had to do something to standardise the rates across the Dorset area. There was a huge variation across the county, some places were free to park and others were £9.

“Nobody had looked at these fees for quite a few years, so this was a rationalisation which we accepted. In addition, if we want to reduce car use and increase the amount of people walking and cycling, making parking cheaper isn’t exactly going to help.

“Overall, we’re not completely satisfied with everything in the proposal but but by and large we can understand it.”

Some shop owners are in support of the new scheme, such as owner of Clocktower Music, Roy Gregory.

He said: “I think people are looking at this the wrong way, it’s a permit for the whole county. Through this we should be able to attract people from further afield, from different parts of the county, who might be put off by the price of parking. It won’t stop people shopping because even though it’s more expensive than it was, it’s still only £1.50 per week.”

A Dorset Council spokesman said: “The plan is to replace the pre-existing shoppers permit which is only available in the former West Dorset District Council area with the new permit which will be available across the Dorset Council area.”