A businesswoman is worried about council plans for long-stay parking spaces at the new site will favour a newly built hotel chain instead of her local hotel.

Fiona Beck, the business owner of The County Hotel, is the latest to voice her opinion about the upcoming changes to the Wentworth car park which her customers use during their stay.

READ Chollerton C of E Aided First School achieve Platinum Sports Status from School Games

After the council announced the changes to the long-stay spaces in the car park, Fiona is worried about how it will affect her directly when customers will be parking nearer to the Travelodge on Alemouth Road rather than at Wentworth car park.

"I never saw Travelodge as competition but I have to look at it as a competitor when it could make a difference in where people will stay when they come to Hexham," Fiona said.

"I am worried as when people come to Hexham and stay at The County Hotel, they would see that due to the parking changes, it would have made more sense staying at Travelodge instead of walking quite a distance to our hotel.

"We have guests who come for the whole day for big events such as Race Days - where they come early in the morning and leave their stuff with us and go off.

"As the long-term parking spaces will be more limited in Wentworth, the spaces of the short and medium stay will be useless for our customers.

"Once again, making customers feel that Travel lodge will be a better place to stay due to there being more of the long-stay parking.

"I do not feel that we have much help from the council and the changes to the car park also do not help my staff.

"We will not get special permits which allow staff to be closer to work.

"Some staff has very long shifts and it will be a long distance for them to walk to Alemouth Road.

"It is quite dangerous as well when it is in the dark.

"We need some support from the council and more needs to be done for local businesses."