Dorchester Dorset.com Blog

Posts Tagged ‘dorchester parking’

Dorchester Parking Scheme 1 Year Anniversary

Thursday, October 27th, 2011
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car park dorchester

Top o' Town Car Park

One year ago we introduced a new parking scheme to Dorchester car parks. The idea was simple – shoppers who spent over £10 in participating shops or other businesses would be entitled to up to 2 hours free parking in all West Dorset District Council car parks. We felt that this would encourage more shoppers to visit the town, and prompt them to spend a bit more money once they got here!

The scheme was an instant success, and got a great reaction from shoppers and traders alike. The BID subsequently got calls from towns all over the UK who were considering replicating the scheme and wanted to know how it was going.

Since its implementation, many of our shops have reported a boost in low end sales, as shoppers are now more inclined to make impulse purchases in order to qualify for the £10 threshold for free parking. It has proved a superb way to support small businesses in Dorchester in these difficult economic times!

Parking Scheme Year Two

Now as we enter the second year of the scheme, we have combined forces with WDDC to subsidise the participating businesses so they get some of their costs back. Under the new rules, for every 5 vouchers businesses collect from shoppers, they will get £2 back from DBID.

To allow as many businesses as possible to benefit from this support, there is a maximum claim of £200p.a per business. We hope this will make our unique parking scheme even more successful over the coming months, until the end of the current BID term in early 2013.

Fianlly, a reminder that parking is completely free (no purchase needed) after 6pm and all day on Sunday in all WDDC car parks and the on-street parking in High East Street, High West Street and Trinity Street.

Parking will also be free after 5pm on our upcoming Christmas Cracker Night (Of which we will have lots more to tell you on the blog in the coming weeks!)

Click here for a full list of businesses participating in the Dorchester Parking Scheme, along with a map of the relevant car parks.

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Mount Pleasant Park and Ride

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
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dorchester park and ride

Dorchester Park and Ride Bus

Great news for those of you who live in Weymouth and work in Dorchester – there’s now a fantastic new way to save money on petrol and parking in your daily commute.

For just £1.50 a day, you can leave your car in the Mount Pleasant park and ride site and hop on the bus to Dorchester in the morning, before catching the bus back to the site at the end of the day.

Mount Pleasant Park and Ride

Mount Pleasant Park and Ride

Payment couldn’t be simpler. You buy a two-part ticket from a machine on site, displaying one half in your car and using the other half for the bus journey there and back.

Starting at 7.10am, buses will leave Mount Pleasant at regular intervals, stopping at Trinity Street and Top o’ Town in Dorchester before returning to the park and ride site. The last bus back to Weymouth departs from Trinity Street at 6.07pm.

It’s a short, leisurely trip, with journey times averaging about 20 minutes depending on traffic conditions. The safety of your car will be ensured by CCTV at Mount Pleasant, and there will also be a sheltered waiting area and toilets for your comfort and convenience.

We strongly recommend you try it for a week, and see what you think! As well as the huge savings you make on petrol and car parking costs, you will also have the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your bit to lower carbon emissions and protect the environment!

For commuters who make the trip from Weymouth to Dorchester every day, the financial rewards of using the park and ride could be considerable. Typical commuters could save themselves between £1200 and £1800 a year – wow!

And it’s not only commuters who can benefit – it’s also a great option for shoppers and day-trippers coming from Weymouth, and it’s also pretty handy for Dorchester Hospital if you use the Top o’ Town stop.

You can find all the times and details for the park and ride here. Why not give it a try this week, and help us spread the word about this fantastic opportunity for saving money on your daily commute and reducing parking congestion in Dorchester town centre.

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£1 off shopping in Dorchester

Sunday, October 31st, 2010
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How it works: Participating shops and businesses in town will display a blue parking sign (see fig.1) to show shoppers they are supporting the scheme. These will available by the end of October.
Figure
1.
The blue ‘P’ sign indicates that the car park voucher (fig.2 ) on the second part of the car park ticket can be used in their shop against a minimum purchase of goods (min. purchase £10.00). This means that to get “up to 2 hours FREE parking” the shopper will be on the lookout for the window stickers. Someone who may have otherwise just walked by now becomes a potential customer for that business! For shops with a lower average ticket value (AVT) this means that they could now sell a bit more to the customer to get them over the £10 minimum spend to qualify for the ‘£1 off’ discount.Some stores with a higher AVT some have already said that they will offer a more generous discount to holders of the parking voucher – In some cases even 5-10% off!  This is left entirely up to the individual shop or business to decide what they want to offer but the minimum is a £1 discount.
We report last month on the free parking in Dorchester scheme.    From the 1st of November the new scheme will be in place and we
Parking Voucher Scheme – For WDDC Pay & Display car parks in Dorchester – Pilot Nov/Dec
2010 is now upon us and it means Free Parking*
Parking Voucher Scheme – For WDDC Pay & Display car parks in Dorchester – Pilot Nov/Dec
How it works: Participating shops and businesses in town will display a blue parking sign (see fig.1) to show shoppers they are supporting the scheme. These will available by the end of October.
Figure 1.
The blue ‘P’ sign indicates that the car park voucher (fig.2 ) on the second part of the car park ticket can be used in their shop against a minimum purchase of goods (min. purchase £10.00). This means that to get “up to 2 hours FREE parking” the shopper will be on the lookout for the window stickers. Someone who may have otherwise just walked by now becomes a potential customer for that business! For shops with a lower average ticket value (AVT) this means that they could now sell a bit more to the customer to get them over the £10 minimum spend to qualify for the ‘£1 off’ discount.
Some stores with a higher AVT some have already said that they will offer a more generous discount to holders of the parking voucher – In some cases even 5-10% off!  This is left entirely up to the individual shop or business to decide what they want to offer but the minimum is a £1 discount.

Last month we talked about the new free parking in Dorchester scheme.    From the 1st of November the new scheme will be in place.  We thought it might be useful to give you some additional details.

Keep an eye out for the ‘P’ sign

Free parking in Dorchester

Free parking in Dorchester Sign

Participating shops and businesses in town will display a blue parking sign to show shoppers they are supporting the scheme.

The blue ‘P’ sign indicates that the car park voucher on the second part of the car park ticket can be used in their shop against a minimum purchase of goods (min. purchase £10.00).

This means that to get “up to 2 hours FREE parking” shoppers need to be on the lookout for the sign on the left.

This is left entirely up to the individual shop or business to decide what they want to offer but the minimum is a £1 discount.

£1 off shopping in Dorchester

Fig 2Phil Gordon, project director of the Dorchester BID and the man behind the campaign said:

“I am really excited about this idea”

“This is a way where any time of the day you are guaranteed to get £1 off, which is up to two hours parking free, just by buying items in participating stores.

“I’m sure this will give business in Dorchester a well-needed boost in the current climate and this initiative was fully supported by the Chamber of Commerce.”

He added: “I’m optimistic having had preliminary discussions with Dorset County Council that they are keen to join in the same scheme and I just really hope that they can follow suit sooner rather than later.”

This is a 2 month trial. We are really interested in your feedback.  Let you know what you think or how it is going.

The free parking in Dorchester is a great way to make a start on your Christmas Shopping in Dorchester.

Check out the full list of participating Dorchester shops in order to redeem your vouchers.

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Dorchester RingGo Parking Update

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
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The Dorchester RingGo Parking system kicked off to a great start before Christmas and with new users registering every week its use is rising.

Dorset County Council have announced that RingGo is also to be made available on the street meters as well from Monday of this week.

This is excellent news as they have agreed to the Dorchester BID’s request to allow remote ‘top up’ for the street meters (like in the car parks) and they have also agreed to make the 10p text alert free. There is still a 20p convenience charge but for an hour or mores parking this is good insurance against a £25 or £50 fine.

This means that there is now even a bigger incentive for you to register with RingGo - RingGo users will have the added flexibility of getting the 10 minute warning text, and you will be able to top up their parking remotely by phone even when using the street meters.

No More: fumbling for coins, using shops as change machines, mad dashes to get back to your car before an over-keen attendant writes you a ticket.

Much more: relaxed visits to town, time to explore all of Dorchester

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Dorchester Pay by Phone Parking Scheme

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
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The launch of Dorchester’s Pay by Phone Parking Scheme is well underway but we managed to get our award-winning town crier, Alistair Chisholm to help ring the changes in.

With his on inevitable style Alistair stopped traffic in the Dorchester Top-of-Town Car Park to cry about the new Parking Scheme.

Phil Gordon was on hand to cover the event and capture it on film . . .

Dorchester Pay by Phone Parking Cry

Here’s a transcript of Alistair’s cry:-

  • Dorchester’s a slow town – we’ve time for people here,
  • If you’re visiting, you’re welcome – come join us, share a beer.
  • There’s much to see and more to do than many people think
  • With Roman bits and Princely bits and Hardy’s river brink.
  • Indoors and outdoors, up the hill and down,
  • Make the most of Dorchester, fare well in our county town.
  • Dorchester’s a slow town – we’ve time for people here
  • So much to see so much to do; and parking’s not a fear.
  • Just pay by phone and worry not about how long you stay,
  • For if you need more parking time, we’ll text you right away!
  • And just by phone you’ll buy more time – no parking worries here,
  • Technology’s won through again, why don’t you have that beer?
  • Extend your stay throughout the day as often as you like,
  • Make the most of Dorchester – maybe next time stay the night!

Pay by Phone Parking in Dorchester

The new technology means that shopping in Dorchester couldn’t be easier. Before parking up, drivers using the scheme can call a local number, type a four-digit number, select how long to park and then leave their car.

There is no longer a need to clock watch as motorists will later be sent a text message asking them if they wish to top up their parking just before their time is due to expire.

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