THE EARLY signs are that a reduction in all-day parking fees at key car parks in Weymouth, West Bay and Lyme Regis is making a difference.

Lib Dem councillors at Dorset Council cuts the fees at the three car parks, one of their election pledges, in an experiment which will continue until the autumn.

They say the loss of income to the council could be up to £300,000 over the period but the benefits to the economy of the three towns is likely to be worth more than that.

Maximum parking fees have gone down from £15 for ten hours to £9, with pro-rata reductions for shorter stays, effectively keeping the lower winter rate in place throughout the summer.

In a non-scientific experiment I photographed both the Swannery and the main West Bay car park at the same time, in similar weather conditions, a week apart – before the drop in price and after the lower price had come into effect.

At the Swannery the car park indication signs showed 509 vacant spaces at 11am mid-week before the price increase, and 483 vacant spaces a week later at exactly the same time – a small but significant improvement on a day which was unlikely to attract many people to the beach and was slightly colder and windier than a week before.

The West Bay car park has no indication signs showing the level of vacant spaces but the number of cars and vans parked there appeared almost identical to a week before when prices were higher.

Weymouth car park campaigner Nigel Sims-Duff who had collected more than 7,000 signatures against the rise in prices when they were imposed by the previous Conservative controlled council last year, said there are already signs of an improvement, less than a week into the new price structure.

Some of those adding their names to the petition had said they could no longer afford to come into town becauase of the increased charges, with several traders reporting a drop in business after the initial price hike, including Mr Sims-Duff who runs the Palm House.

“It is still early days but there are promising signs it will have a positive impact. Today for example, we had members of our knitting club park in Swannery carpark at the reduced rate and stayed for longer (3hrs) as opposed to 2 hrs when they parked in Melcombe Regis. They stayed longer and bought lunch in the Palm House which they had not done for over a year.

“Customers staying longer at a lower rate would not necessarily reduce car park revenue for Dorset Council but it would benefit businesses as it is more likely to increase their shopping and leisure time in the town,” he said.

Dorset Council has changed the parking fees boards in the three car parks where the lower rates now apply –  keeping each at the winter rate until the experiment ends in October.

New parking machines in use in all of the car parks involved will mean the council is more accurately able to judge the results of its experiment.