Council collected thousands on free parking days

A town council collected thousands of pounds in parking charges and fines on days when its car park should have been free.

Certain car parks in Lyme Regis, Dorset, including one owned by Lyme Regis Town Council, are free to use on selected days a year, such as the Christmas lights switch-on and Remembrance Sunday.

After receiving complaints from customers, traders discovered the offer had not been implemented at the town council's Woodmead car park and, over the last two years, it had wrongly collected more than £10,000 from drivers.

Lyme Regis Town Council apologised and said "more robust procedures" would be in place in future.

When complaints first emerged following the town's Blessing of the Boats free parking day on 10 May, the town council blamed an "administrative oversight".

But members of Cobb Traders business group, who promoted the offer to their customers, submitted a Freedom of Information request and discovered it was not an isolated incident.

Data from the town council showed it collected parking fees on all 12 of its free parking days between October 2024 and May 2026, totalling more than £10,000.

The data did not include any payment machine takings for five of the 12 free days because the machines had since been replaced.

Rebecca De Voisey, owner of Paper Bird card shop in Coombe Street, promoted the offer on social media.

She said: "One of my customers posted to say they were unhappy they had been charged for parking.

"It's frustrating that I've promoted it, then my customers have held me accountable.

"It's not good for my business, not good for the town and it undermines people's trust.

"These free parking days are meant to support local businesses and I find it shockingly bad that it's not a one-off."

George Symonds, who runs Lyme Regis Amusements, said: "I think if something is advertised as free, it should be honoured.

"They stated it was an administrative error – can you have an administrative error over years? Even fining people?

"It cannot be good for the reputation of the town."

Town clerk John Wright said the town council usually implemented free parking by putting up signs and informing enforcement officers.

He said: "We have recently become aware that, on some free parking dates during the past two years, the arrangements were not adequately implemented.

"As a result, some visitors may have paid for parking when it should have been free, and a number of parking charge notices may also have been issued.

"We apologise for the error and would be happy to provide a refund to anyone affected if evidence is produced within six months."

The next free parking days are on 6 September for Lyme Splash, 8 September for Remembrance Sunday, 21 November for the Christmas lights switch-on, 12 and 13 December for the Big Christmas Weekend, and 24 December for Christmas Eve.