Parking in Dartford: Car Parks, Charges and Free Bays

Parking in Dartford is cheaper than most people expect, and in several places it costs nothing at all. The council runs seventeen off-street parking places across the borough and the paid ones share a single flat scale: £1 for up to two hours, £2 for up to four, £5.50 for anything longer. Several others are free for the first two, four or even twenty-three hours. This guide sets out every council car park and what it charges, where the free bays are, how Bluewater fits in, and the rules on permits, blue badges and enforcement, with each figure linked back to the council’s own parking order.

Charges and hours below come from the council’s Off-Street Parking Places Order 2021 (Amendment No. 2) 2024, which is the legal document that sets them, and from the council’s paid parking page. Tariffs are reviewed periodically, so glance at the sign before you pay.

The quick answer

If you want free parking near the town centre, Cranford Road by Central Park gives you two hours at no charge. If you need a full day, Stone Lodge on Cotton Lane and Temple Hill Square allow up to twenty-three hours free. If you are shopping in the centre and prepared to pay, almost every council car park charges the same £1 for two hours. And if you are heading to Bluewater, parking there is free with no time limit at all.

Dartford council car parks and 2026 charges

The three-step scale shown as £1 / £2 / £5.50 means £1 for up to two hours, £2 for up to four hours and £5.50 for more than four hours. Where a car park is free up to a limit, there is a no-return rule that stops you resetting the clock: most of the town centre car parks bar a return within two hours, Cranford Road within two hours, Woodlands within four, and the Civic Centre visitors bays within six.

The free car parks worth knowing

Stone Lodge, Cotton Lane and Temple Hill Square are the outliers. Both allow stays of up to twenty-three hours at no charge, with no return within an hour. Stone Lodge also takes coaches and certified M2 and M3 vehicles. If you need to leave a car for a working day without paying, these are the two options the council actually provides.

Woodlands, Eagles Road in Greenhithe gives four free hours Monday to Friday and is unrestricted outside those hours. It sits next to the Town Car Park on the same road, which does charge, so it is worth checking which one you have pulled into.

The Grove in Swanscombe is free for four hours, then £2 up to six, weekdays only.

Cranford Road, on the Central Park access road, gives two free hours Monday to Saturday and is the closest free option to the town centre and the park.

The Civic Centre visitors car park on Home Gardens allows one free hour at any time, with no return within six hours. That is genuinely for visitors to the council, not all-day town centre parking. Separately, the barrier-controlled Civic Centre car park opens to the public Monday to Friday 5pm to 9pm, Saturday 6am to 9pm and Sunday 2pm to 6pm.

The paid town centre car parks

Acacia Hall on the High Street and Mansion House Gardens off Market Street both run a ticketless system: you pay by coin or contactless card, or by phone, and there is no ticket to display. Every other paid car park is pay and display, and the ticket must sit on the dashboard with the price paid and expiry time readable through the windscreen.

Westgate House on Spital Street is the cheap short stop, at 50p for an hour and £1 for two, with a two hour maximum.

Charging hours are the detail that catches people out. Most town centre car parks charge until 8pm, but Highfield Road stops at 6.30pm and Highfield Road (South) stops at 4.30pm. Sundays are not charging days at any council car park in Dartford, because every charging window runs Monday to Saturday or Monday to Friday.

Electric vehicles park free for one hour in a designated EV bay at Acacia Hall, Mansion House Gardens, Westgate and The Grove while connected to a rapid charge point and charging. The charging tariff itself is set by the charge point operator, not the council. Solo motorcycles parked in a designated motorcycle bay pay nothing anywhere.

Bluewater: free parking, and a lot of it

Bluewater sits in Stone, inside Dartford borough, and it is the single biggest parking resource in the area. The centre states plainly that “parking at Bluewater is free of charge all day, everyday”, across 13,000 spaces, all extra wide, with no space more than a five minute walk from an entrance (Bluewater parking). There are designated accessible bays and parent and child bays next to the entrances in every car park, fifteen coach and motorhome spaces in the Village Car Park, and motorbike spaces by John Lewis and at the end of the first rows in the multi-storeys. The car parks hold a Safer Parking Award.

The honest caveat is that free does not mean unmanaged. Bluewater is private land, so the terms are the centre’s to set and change, not the council’s, and council blue badge and permit rules do not apply there.

Season tickets and permits

If you park in town regularly, a season ticket is £69 per calendar month, sold in one month intervals up to twelve months. It covers Overy Street car parks 3 and 4, Acacia Car Park, Highfield Road South and the Town Car Park at Eagles Road in Greenhithe. Waiting lists exist at some of them. Applications go through the council’s permit service.

Residents’ permit schemes run in a long list of streets: twelve in Dartford, including Anne of Cleves Road, Gordon Road, Mount Pleasant Road, Shepherds Lane and Suffolk Road; eight in Greenhithe, among them Castle Street, Hillcrest Drive, King Edward Road and Riverview Road; and six in Darenth. There are also a limited number of on-street commuter permit spaces in Station Road and Eagles Road. The full street list is on the council’s permit parking schemes page.

What it means for you: at £69 a month against £5.50 a day, a season ticket pays for itself if you park in town more than about thirteen days a month. Below that, pay as you go is cheaper.

Blue badge parking

Blue badge holders can park for up to three hours without charge in the council’s pay and display car parks and bays, or for longer where the tariff board says so, provided the badge is valid, displayed correctly and the parking clock is set to the time of arrival (paid parking). The parking order separately exempts blue badge holders from charges in the designated bays provided in almost every council car park.

What the badge does not do is override other restrictions. The council lists as non-starters for cancelling a penalty: using a badge where it gives no exemption, such as no loading restrictions, permit holder only bays, goods vehicle loading bays and loading only bays, and using an expired badge. Badges themselves are issued by Kent County Council, not the borough. Disabled persons’ parking bays outside your home are applied for through the borough’s permit system, or by emailing parking.services@dartford.gov.uk.

How to pay, and what happens if you do not

You can pay by coin or contactless card at the machine, through the RingGo app, or by phone on 01322 917527. Each car park has its own RingGo location code on the signs. Cashless transactions can carry a small extra fee, which is shown on the signs and during the transaction.

If you are ticketed, the council runs the standard civil enforcement process. There is a fourteen day discount period for challenges, and the penalty must be paid within 28 days of issue or a Notice to Owner may be served on the registered keeper. The amount is stated on the notice itself; the council does not publish a tariff of penalty levels on its penalty charge notices page. Evidence photographs are viewable online before you decide whether to pay or appeal.

The council also warns that “getting change” is not accepted as grounds for cancellation, because a cashless option exists at every pay and display place.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I park for free in Dartford?

Stone Lodge on Cotton Lane and Temple Hill Square both allow up to twenty-three hours free. Cranford Road by Central Park gives two free hours, Woodlands in Greenhithe four, The Grove in Swanscombe four, and the Civic Centre visitors car park one. Bluewater is free with no time limit.

How much is parking in Dartford town centre?

Most council car parks charge £1 for up to two hours, £2 for up to four hours and £5.50 for more than four hours. Westgate House on Spital Street is cheaper for a short stop at 50p for the first hour.

Is parking free on Sundays in Dartford?

Yes at the council’s car parks. Every charging window runs Monday to Saturday or Monday to Friday, so Sunday is not a charging day. Restrictions such as maximum stay and permit-only bays still apply.

Is parking at Bluewater free?

Yes. Bluewater says parking is free of charge all day, every day, across 13,000 spaces. It is private land, so the centre sets the terms rather than the council.

Do blue badge holders pay to park in Dartford?

Blue badge holders get up to three hours free in the council’s pay and display car parks and bays, or longer where the tariff board allows, provided the badge is valid and displayed with the clock set. The badge does not exempt you from loading restrictions or permit-only bays.

How much is a parking season ticket in Dartford?

£69 per calendar month, available in one month intervals up to twelve months, valid at Overy Street car parks 3 and 4, Acacia, Highfield Road South and the Town Car Park in Greenhithe.

Sources

• Dartford Borough Council, paid parking for on and off street spaces
• Dartford Borough Council, Off-Street Parking Places Order 2021 (Amendment No. 2) 2024, for every car park, tariff and charging window
• Dartford Borough Council, town centre car parks map
• Dartford Borough Council, permit parking schemes and disabled parking
• Dartford Borough Council, penalty charge notices
• Bluewater, visitor car park information

Charges are those in the council’s published parking order and were checked in August 2026. If you are new to the borough, our guides to Dartford bin collection days and Dartford council tax bands cover the other practicalities of moving here, and Dartford Online carries the day’s local news.