The allocation of residents on-street parking permits in the Park District area of Weymouth is changing.
Historically and increasingly there has been an imbalance between the number of eligible permit holders and parking spaces in the A and C zones, leading to complaints and tensions in the community and dangerous parking on yellow lines and kerbs.
In response to a residents’ petition in 2018, organised by The Park Community Centre, we carried out consultation during November and December 2019 with on-street parking permit holders in Zones A and C.
What's changing
4 changes are being introduced to the residents parking scheme in Zone A and C as a result of this consultation:
- hotels, guest houses, holiday homes and Airbnb accommodation within Zone A and C will be removed from the eligibility criteria. These premises will now only be able to purchase permits for the Swannery Car Park, with guests able to use 10 minute unloading time to drop luggage and check-in
- residential properties will be restricted to a maximum of 2 on-street permits per household
- properties with private driveways will be restricted to one permit per household
- the one hour maximum wait period for on-street parking is being shortened, it will now be from 9am to 6pm. Between 6pm and 9am parking will be for residents permit holders only with no waiting period
These changes will start from 1 February 2021, subject to the completion of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process.
There is no change to the price of the residents’ permit. Having a permit does not guarantee a parking space, but these changes will provide more space across the permit zone areas.
Zones A and C only
These changes only apply to Zones A and C. All other local zones will remain the same. The impact of this change in Zones A and C will be monitored before any decisions are taken on whether to apply this to other permit zone areas.
2 permits per household
You can only have 2 permits per household to park in Zones A and C. Please contact the parking services team to apply for extra permits, which will enable you to park your extra vehicles in the Swannery Car Park at the same cost of the resident permit.
Proof of address and vehicle registration will still be required.
The option of having one permit per household was put to the community as part of the consultation but it was not supported by the respondents.
Blue Badge holders
As a resident of zone A and C you will be eligible for one free resident permit. Contact the parking services team for further information.
Waiting time
You can still wait for one hour in zones A and C between 9am and 6pm if parked correctly within a bay area.
You must, however, have a valid residents’ permit or blue badge to park in zones A and C between 6pm and 9am as the one hour wait will not apply.
The option of abolishing the one hour wait during daytime hours was put to the community as part of the consultation, but there was insufficient support from respondents for this to be taken forward
Deliveries, carers and visitor permits
- deliveries can make use of the one hour wait in a resident permit bay between 9am and 6pm
- outside of these times there is a 10 minute observation period to allow for loading/unloading
- loading bays and double yellow lines have a 5 minute observation
- all other areas do not permit loading and no time allowance is given
Carers can apply for a Carers Permit which will allow them to park in zones A and C - contact the parking services team.
Visitor permits are unchanged and not affected, they can still be used in the same way and will remain valid in zones A and C, the allocation per house will remain unchanged.
Hotels, guest houses and businesses
One of the solutions to try and address the imbalance between the number of eligible permit holders is to provide car park spaces in the Swannery Car Park for visitors to hotels, guesthouses, holiday lets and Airbnb establishments.
Owners will be able to apply for an allocation of permits under the same criteria as before, but these will only be eligible for the Swannery Car Park and not the A and C residential zones.
Because of the strain of parking availability in the area, it is felt that visitors will be more likely to find a parking space in the Swannery Car Park than under the existing arrangements.
Guests will still be able to load and unload as before but upon receipt of their permit they must then leave their vehicle in the Swannery Car Park or hotel private car park, if this is an option.
Owners living on site will still be eligible for a residents parking permit, subject to proof of address and vehicle registration, up to the maximum of two resident permits per household.
Other businesses in the area are not affected by the changes and previous arrangements will still be in place.
Swannery Car Park permit
This permit is available for visitors to hotels, guesthouses, holiday lets and Airbnb establishments. Owners will be able to apply for an allocation of permits under the same criteria as before.
Residents with more than two vehicles can apply for a Swannery Car Park permit for their additional vehicles at the same cost of the resident permit, proof of eligibility will still be required.
The Swannery Car Park postcode is DT4 7TY. On entering the town from the A354, it is on the left as you go over The Swannery Bridge.
The car park is open 24 hours a day, and you can use the Swannery Car Park permit for 24 hours a day.
The residents parking permit for zones A and C cannot be used in any car park.
Virtual permits
The decision to adopt virtual permits is in line with our digital strategy and mirrors the way a motorist would re-tax their vehicle each year.
The parking services team is committed to finding ways of reducing costs and lengthy application processes and, because the virtual permits can be applied for online and activated instantly, it is felt that this a far more efficient way of managing residents permits.
Paper permits are open to abuse by amending dates manually or by photocopying them and altering number plates. Virtual permits are easy to de-activate if fraudulent use has been detected.