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Car park permits

We provide a number of parking permits which can save you money and make it quicker and easier to use our car parks.

How do I buy a car park permit?

All of our car park permits - called season tickets within MiPermit - can be bought online from the MiPermit payment portal .

If you have any problems, the MiPermit help page is here .

You can contact MiPermit here .

All purchased permits can be managed from the MiPermit app, which can be downloaded from the Apple or Google Play stores. You cannot buy a permit from the app.

Standard car park permits

The prices of our standard parking permits are set out below. Parking is only valid in the car parks shown on the permit.

  • All towns (Cockermout, Keswick, Maryport, Wigton and Workington): £462 per year
  • Cockermouth only: £276 per year
  • Keswick only: £347 per year
  • Maryport only: £116 per year
  • Wigton only: £200 per year
  • Workington only (not multi-storey): £291 per year
  • Charge for each permit alteration: 50p

Payment periods - 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month.

Commercial permits

The council has also introduced a new online system to improve the administration of its commercial permits. These permits are used by businesses, such as hotels, to provide parking in the council’s car parks to its residents. 

All commercial permits are now administered through the online MiPermit system. To use the system, businesses will need to set up and account with the system where they can then purchase as many permits as they require. Businesses can then change the vehicle registration number associated with each permit as required – such as on the arrival and check-in of a new guest.  

Permits can be bought and managed on the MiPermit website . Just follow the links under the “Buy digital permits” section. 

Permits can last for between one and 12 months and the annual cost is just £526 with a £1 set-up cost for each permit. There is no charge for changing a vehicle registration. 

The new system means the customer no longer needs to use a paper permit in their vehicle. Paper permits currently in use can continue to be used until they expire.  

Council enforcement officers will check registration numbers with their hand-held computers, and will not issue any penalty charge notices if the vehicle is registered with the system.  

Low-pay car park permit

If you are on a low income you can get a permit for the town you work in through MiPermit. These cost £35 for six months or £70 for 12 months. 

To be eligible you must:

  • earn less than £18,278 gross per year
  • provide proof of eligibility. This includes:
    • Evidence of income (payslip, P60, letter of employment offer with salary details etc – which must include your name and address)
    • Proof of your workplace (must be in town applied for)
    • Proof the vehicle is registered with DVLA. If you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle, you will need to provide the V5 document as well as a valid insurance document showing you as a named driver.

When applying for or renewing permits you will have to provide proofs of eligibility.

You can do that by registering for a MiPermit account at the MiPermit registration screen . You need to click the Register button on this page to create your account. 

  • To buy a permit, click on Buy Digital Permits  
  • Click on Worker Permits. You should be logged on. If not, fill in your details at the top of the page
  • Select Permit Type from the dropdown list
  • Upload the relevant documents, answer the questions, agree the terms and conditions and press either Add to Basket or Pay Now.

At this stage you do not have a permit. Your documents and answers still need to be verified for eligibility. If you meet the criteria, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address you supplied during registration. At this point, payment will be taken.

No payment will be taken if you are not successful in being awarded a low-pay permit. You will be notified of the decision by email.

Verification may take up to 10 working days.

Cashless parking

The MiPermit app allows you to buy pay and stay sessions on our car parks. These sessions are the digital equivalent of buying a ticket from a car park ticket machine - though you will not actually receive a ticket to display in your vehicle.

To buy these sessions, you need to enter a code that is specific to the car park on which you want to park. You can find these codes on our parking charges and ways to pay page or on signage in the car park.

My road has parking restrictions. Where do I get a permit to park there?

Many of the streets are managed through disc parking. This means you can park for free for a limited amount of time. 

Find out more on our on-street parking permits page

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