Portland Marina Car Parking Changes

The primary reason behind the introduction of charges is not to make money, but to better control our parking estate for the benefit of all our customers and stakeholders. On a busy summer weekend, the first experience we want our berth holders and customers to enjoy is to be able to easily park their cars throughout the day. Having tried a number of ways to manage our car parks in the past, we felt the best way forward is to introduce a car park management solution. This will help to ensure that customers have the best opportunity to locate a parking space at peak times. 

When will the new system start?

The system will initially go live on Monday 11 October with a grace period until 1 November. After this the system will be fully live.

How much will parking be?

For those paying the full rate it will be £2 per hour up to a maximum of £19.60 for 24 hours.

What discounts will be available for marina and stakeholder customers?

The discounts vary depending on the customer and the reason they are parking at the marina. For the majority, they will not experience any difference in the way they use Portland Marina.  For those that are crew or day boat charterers (e.g. for diving or fishing) the following will apply;

• Visitors to The Boat That Rocks, Taylor's Mess Deck Cafe and Kalon Beauty get 2 free hours with full price charges thereafter.
• Berth holders and their guests – a single berthing licence allows parking for 2 cars free of charge, a further 3 at half price with any others paying the full rate.
• Commercial and charter berth holders – Skipper & professional crews are free of charge – all fee paying passengers receive a 50% discount, which remains less than the equivalent charges for parking in and around Weymouth Harbour.
• Customers with boats in our yard (inc. berth holders from our sister marinas) – Two spaces free of charge for the duration the boat is ashore with us.
• RYA multi-day training courses – e.g. coastal skipper – free of charge.
• Guests and visitors to our on-site commercial tenants and contractors, provided they are working on behalf of the marina or one of our customers, are free of charge.
• The drop off/loading bay is available for 20 minutes on the roundabout outside The Boat That Rocks and will not be counted towards parking time.

How does the system work?

It is a free flow pay on exit ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system. When you enter the parking area, your number plate is picked up on the cameras and your parking clock starts. When you leave, you enter your car registration into the payment machine and it calculates your parking fees, taking into account any discount vouchers you have. From payment, you have 15 minutes to exit the car park.

Can I park in any of the car parks?

Marina berth holders can park in either the Berth Holders car park or, if that is full, in the main car park. However, customers who are not berth holders are only able to park in the main car park in front of the dry stack.

I'm a berth holder at a sister boatfolk marina, can I park for free?

If your boat is ahore with us in the yard, yes. However, none of our boatfolk marinas offer free parking for berth holders of their sister marinas apart from on an ad-hoc case-by-case basis.

We appreciate that this is a change and the local community have enjoyed free parking at the marina for many years.  However it is important to us that our customers and those of our stakeholders have access to the facilities that they pay for. There are several car parks locally within a short walk of the marina which offer free parking  for up to 72 hours.