We are delighted to announce that visitors to Weymouth will be able to park for free at weekends in Dorset Council car parks starting from Saturday 7th December. This coincides with Small Business Saturday on 7th December, where the town centre will be bursting with the hustle and bustle of shoppers going about their Christmas shopping.
The free weekend parking until the end of December is provided by Weymouth Town Council, Dorset Council and Weymouth BID and the Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce, to encourage people to shop locally for their Christmas presents.
Weymouth has something for everyone, alongside the Christmas shopping there will also be festive events happening in the town such as the Victorian Christmas Fayre near to the Melcombe Regis car park and the annual Chase the Pudding race on the beach.
Additionally, throughout the month of December, our town will be celebrating the fairytale of Cinderella. All residents and visitors of Weymouth are invited to following the magical story as it is brought to life with light, sounds and animations in six story book settings, each on their own stage.
The free parking dates are as follows:
- Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December (Small Business Saturday 7th December)
- Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th (Victorian Christmas Fayre 14th & 15th and Chase the Pudding 15th December)
- Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd December (Last weekend before Christmas)
- Thursday 26th December (Boxing Day sales)
- Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th December (Christmas sales)
There is no need to display a parking ticket on these dates.
All other terms and conditions including maximum stay restrictions are applicable to each car park during this time
The car parks where free parking applies are as follows:
- Pavilion (main and forecourt)
- North Quay
- Governors Lane
- Cosens Quay
- Harbourside
- Melcombe Regis
- Park Street
- Royal Yard
- Swannery
On-street parking charges will still apply during this period.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Highways, Travel and Environment said:
“We’re delighted to offer residents and visitors free parking in our Weymouth car parks in the run up to Christmas”.
“This is a great opportunity for local people to support Weymouth as a Christmas shopping destination.”
Cllr Graham Winter, Mayor of Weymouth, said:
“Having these free parking weekends will give residents that extra incentive to spend more time in their local shopping area. This also helps promote Weymouth as a shopping destination by encouraging visitors from elsewhere. Offering consecutive free parking weekends is a first for Weymouth and shows that we’re working hard with partners to deliver a better retail experience by offering the free parking.”
Claudia Webb, Chief Executive of Weymouth BID, commented:
“We are happy that the councils are supporting local trade in this way and hope that the town will be packed at weekends with families enjoying the various Christmas events and the Cinderella Trail.”
Craig Oakes, President of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Christmas time for Weymouth businesses has historically been a time when they could see consistency in their income, but in recent years with the advent of campaigns like online Black Friday sales it has become more difficult to guarantee that money for local businesses over the festive period.”
“The least that we can be doing over this period is to give our businesses a fighting chance by offering parking for free in the relevant town centre car parks over December thus giving the whole town the opportunity to thrive again over Christmas, especially with events planned too.”
