Five car parks give an hour free and charge nothing after 6pm or on Sundays. The central ones charge overnight and on bank holidays. Full 2026 tariffs.
Winchester has three separate parking regimes, run by two councils, and the rules differ in ways that cost money. The city council runs the car parks. Hampshire County Council has run the on-street bays and permits since 1 October 2023. One car park, Durngate, is the county’s.
The short version: the central car parks charge round the clock, including bank holidays. The Park and Walk car parks a few minutes further out give you the first hour free and stop charging at 6pm. On-street bays are free on Sundays and bank holidays but almost all are capped at one hour.
Updated 2 October: the city council’s car park charges change on 1 November 2026. Park and ride rises to £4.50 a day, over four hours in Park and Walk to £10.00, and central car parks by about 10%. The free first hour stays. Every new price, old and new. The tables below are the charges in force until 31 October.
All the city council tariffs below are from its Parking Charges document, which has applied since 1 December 2025 and is still the current one.
Park and Walk: the first hour is free
Five car parks on the edge of the centre share one tariff, charged Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm. Outside those hours, and all day Sunday, they are free.
| Up to 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | Over 4 hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesil multi storey, Cattle Market, Worthy Lane, Coach Park | Free | £1.50 | £2.20 | £2.90 | £7.30 |
| River Park (9am to 5pm) | Free | £1.50 | £2.20 | £2.90 | £15.50 Mon to Fri, £7.30 Sat |
The car parks, with their sizes from the council’s car parks list:
- Chesil Street multi storey, SO23 0HU, 616 spaces
- Cattle Market, Worthy Lane, SO23 7AB, 202 spaces
- Worthy Lane, SO23 7AB, 150 spaces
- Coach Park, Worthy Lane, SO23 7AB, 100 spaces for cars
- River Park, Gordon Road, SO23 7DD, 182 spaces
River Park is the trap in that list. Its charging hours are shorter, but stay past four hours on a weekday and it costs £15.50, more than twice what the other four charge for the same stay. It is priced to stop commuters, and it works.
The council’s own park and ride FAQ says the cheapest all-day parking in the city centre is £7.30. That is this tariff.
Central car parks: charged 24 hours, bank holidays included
The nine Central Parking Zone car parks charge Monday to Sunday, including bank holidays, on this tariff from 8am to 7pm:
| Up to 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | Over 4 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2.00 | £3.60 | £5.50 | £7.30 | £18.60 |
Then overnight, 7pm to 8am, they charge £2.00 for up to an hour and £3.60 for longer. There is no free evening in the centre.
| Car park | Postcode | Spaces |
|---|---|---|
| Tower Street | SO23 8TA | 515 |
| St Peter’s | Gordon Road, SO23 7DD | 165 |
| Middle Brook Street | SO23 8DQ | 142 |
| Gladstone Street | SO23 8TQ | 105 |
| Colebrook Street | SO23 9LH | 86 |
| Friarsgate | Tanner Street, SO23 8AD | 72 |
| Jewry Street | SO23 8RY | 44 |
| Guildhall Yard, Saturday and Sunday only | Colebrook Street, SO23 9LJ | 43 |
| Cossack Lane | SO23 8DQ | 39 |
Middle Brook Street has one extra rate the others do not: £7.80 for up to six hours on a Saturday or Sunday.
The Brooks, Friarsgate, SO23 8QY, 313 spaces, is different again. It is pay on foot, barrier controlled, and open 8am to 6pm only. Same £2.00 to £18.60 scale, with a £7.80 six-hour rate at weekends.
Winchester Sport and Leisure Park is the cheapest of all if you are using it: 90p for an hour, £1.60 for two, £2.30 for three, £3.10 for four, £7.80 over four, Monday to Sunday 8am to 7pm. Three hours are free if you are paying to use the leisure facilities, one session a day.
Where parking is actually free
- All five Park and Walk car parks, after 6pm and all day Sunday. River Park after 5pm.
- The first hour, every time, in those same five car parks.
- On-street bays on Sundays and bank holidays. Hampshire’s charging times are Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm, with bank holidays excluded.
- Durngate car park on bank holidays. This is the county’s car park, and its page says plainly: “No charge on Bank or Public Holidays.” The city council’s central car parks a few hundred metres away charge as normal that day.
- Three car parks in the district, always: Kidmore Lane, Denmead, PO7 6JZ, 73 spaces; Harestock, Priors Dean Road, SO22 6JU, 43 spaces; and Wickham Station, Mill Lane, PO17 5HY, 64 spaces.
- Park and ride car parks on Sundays, though no buses run.
Durngate, the one the county runs
Durngate, 1 North Walls, SO23 8DW, 66 spaces including two accessible bays. Open 24 hours. It is worth knowing separately because its rules are not the city council’s.
- Charges apply Monday to Sunday 8am to 6pm, and not at all on bank holidays.
- Monday to Saturday: 80p for an hour, £1.50 for two, £2.20 for three, £2.90 for four, £7.30 over four.
- Sunday is a £2.00 flat fee for the day.
- No cash. Card, online or the RingGo app only, location code 40600.
- Free for Blue Badge holders.
- Maximum stay 24 hours.
At 80p, its first hour is the cheapest paid hour in central Winchester.
On-street: £1.90 an hour, and usually one hour only
Hampshire County Council took over on-street parking and permits on 1 October 2023. Its Winchester on-street page lists these bays, all charged Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm, bank holidays excluded, and all £1.90 for up to one hour, which is the maximum stay:
- Andover Road, Victoria Road, Upper High Street, Tower Street, St Peter’s Street, Water Lane, Parchment Street, The Square, Market Lane, Colebrook Street and The Broadway.
Two exceptions:
- North Walls has a south side with a two-hour maximum, at £1.90 for an hour, £2.60 for 90 minutes and £3.40 for two hours. The north side is one hour only.
- Station Hill is charged Monday to Sunday 8am to 7pm, is RingGo only, and runs £1.60 for an hour, £3 for two, £4.50 for four, £6 for five and £15.50 for 24 hours. Location code 40604.
Most of these bays take card or the RingGo app.
Permits and season tickets
On-street residents’ permits are Hampshire’s, applied for through MiPermit. The county does not publish the prices: its page says permit prices are “available upon application”. You need a copy of your latest council tax bill plus proof the vehicle is kept at the address. Permits are digital, there are no paper ones, and the county warns that a permit is needed at all times including weekends and bank holidays unless signs say otherwise. No refunds are given if you cancel.
The city council still runs the car park season tickets:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Inner Area Resident Season Ticket | £240 a year |
| Residents Off-Street (Off-Peak) Season Ticket | £100 a year |
| Residents’ 30% discount season ticket | £940 to £2,395.40 a year, by car park group |
| Standard annual, Group B | £3,422 |
| Standard annual, Group D | £1,343 |
| Standard annual, Group E | £644 |
| Standard annual, Group F | £275 |
Quarterly rates are £930, £365, £175 and £75 for groups B, D, E and F.
The Inner Area ticket at £240 is for residents of permit zones B, C, M, N, P, Q, R and S whose property qualifies for an on-street permit. It covers Cattle Market, Chesil multi storey, Crowder Terrace, The Lido, Worthy Lane and the Group E part of Barfield Close.
The off-peak ticket at £100 is the one for residents whose property does not qualify for an on-street permit. It only works Monday to Friday 8am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm, 7pm at St Peter’s, plus all day Saturday and Sunday, in Cattle Market, Chesil, St Peter’s and Worthy Lane. Anything outside those hours you pay for as normal.
Three car parks are season ticket holders only: Crowder Terrace, SO22 4PT, 11 spaces; The Lido, Worthy Lane, 24 spaces; and Barfield Close, SO23 9SQ, 17 spaces.
Blue badges: free everywhere except one car park
The national Blue Badge concession only covers on-street parking, which in Winchester means Hampshire’s bays. The city council adds its own concession on top, and it is generous, with a single exception.
- Blue Badge holders park free in any Winchester City Council pay and display car park, up to that car park’s stated time limit, with the badge displayed.
- You do pay at The Brooks. It is barrier controlled pay on foot and the concession does not apply. The council states this explicitly on its Blue Badge page.
- Durngate is free for Blue Badge holders.
- At the station car park, parking is free for Blue Badge holders who register in advance with South Western Railway.
- Park and ride parking is free for badge holders, but the bus fare still applies unless you hold a National Bus Pass.
Every city council car park has disabled bays. Park within the marked bay, and not in bays with yellow hatching or reserved for permit holders or market traders.
Park and ride: £3.50, and free after 4pm
Five sites, 2,137 spaces between them, all on the same linked bus route so any ticket works at any site.
| Site | Access | Spaces |
|---|---|---|
| South Winchester | M3 junction 11, SO21 2FG | 884 |
| St Catherine’s | Garnier Road, SO23 9NP | 583 |
| Barfield Phase II | Barfield Close, SO23 9SQ | 276 |
| Pitt | Romsey Road, SO22 5PR | 199 |
| Barfield | Barfield Close, SO23 9SQ | 195 |
Prices:
- £3.50 a day, standard. The council’s FAQ says the machines take cash in coins, and RingGo also works.
- £3.00 off-peak, after 10.30am Monday to Friday.
- £1.80 for a three-hour stay on a Saturday, at Barfield and St Catherine’s only.
- Free after 4pm, Monday to Saturday, at Barfield and St Catherine’s. You still have to take a ticket from the machine.
- £644 a year for a season ticket, which the council works out at £2.80 a day. It does not guarantee you a space.
The ticket comes in two parts. One goes on the dashboard, the other goes to the bus driver and covers the driver plus up to six passengers for the return trip. Passenger tickets are only issued at the car parks, so ask before you set off.
Buses run 6.25am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 6.30pm Saturday, every 7 minutes at peak, every 12 minutes off peak and all day Saturday, dropping to every 15 to 20 minutes after 6pm. No buses run on Sundays or public holidays, though parking is free on Sundays. All of this is from the council’s park and ride FAQs.
Parking at the station
South Western Railway runs the station car park, 464 spaces, RingGo code 2007. Charges from SWR’s Winchester station page:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Peak | £10.90 |
| Off-peak, from noon Monday to Friday | £5.50 |
| Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday | £5.50 |
| Per hour, from noon, RingGo only | £1.80 |
| Weekly | £43.40 |
| Monthly | £151.90 |
| Annual | £1,519.00 |
There is no CCTV in that car park, according to SWR’s own listing.
For a commuter, the arithmetic is worth doing. A peak day at the station is £10.90. The Cattle Market, Worthy Lane and the Coach Park are all on Worthy Lane, a few minutes’ walk from the station, and charge £7.30 for over four hours Monday to Saturday, with nothing to pay after 6pm. Station Hill on-street, run by the county, is £15.50 for 24 hours.
Around the district
| Car park | Charging hours | Tariff |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Lane, Bishops Waltham, SO32 1AX, 77 spaces | Mon to Sat 8am to 6pm | 1 hour free, £0.80 for 2, £1.00 for 3, £1.40 for 4, £2.00 over 4 |
| Basingwell Street, Bishops Waltham, SO32 1PA, 100 spaces | Mon to Sat 8am to 6pm | 1 hour free, £0.80 for 2, £1.00 for 3 |
| The Square, Wickham, PO17 5JQ, 150 spaces | Mon to Sat 9am to 5pm | 30 minutes free, £0.50 for 1 hour, £0.80 for 2, £1.00 for 3 |
| Perins, Jacklyns Lane, Alresford, SO24 9JJ, 47 spaces | Mon to Sat 8am to 6pm | £0.50 for 1 hour, £0.80 for 2, £1.00 for 3, £1.40 for 4, £2.00 over 4 |
| Arlebury Park, The Avenue, Alresford, SO24 9EP, 85 spaces | Mon to Sat 9am to 5pm | First 2 hours free, £1.00 for 3, £1.40 for 4, £2.00 over 4 |
| Alresford Station, Station Road, SO24 9JG, 128 spaces | See below | £1.00 for 1 hour, £2.00 for 2, £3.00 for 3, £4.00 over 3 hours |
Alresford Station car park is split in two, and the two halves have different rules. The Winchester City Council section charges Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm. The Mid-Hants Railway section charges Monday to Sunday 8am to 6pm, including bank and public holidays. Park on the wrong side on a bank holiday Monday and you owe money you would not owe twenty metres away.
The £4.00 over-three-hours rate is available to railway users only.
Also on this site
- Winchester roadworks and travel, including the M3 junction 9 rebuild
- Winchester bin collection days
- Winchester council tax bands
- Winchester train times to London
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