Dalton Park outlet centre at Murton near Seaham ended 2022 on a high with a record year for sales.

Like for like sales across the year were up 14.5 percent vs 2019, the last comparable year due to the pandemic.

Crew Clothing, Skechers and Dune all arrived while Radley, Clarks and Levi’s moved to bigger stores.

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Events included EcoFest in partnership with Climate Action North, in February.

Centre Manager, Richard Kaye, is optimistic that the good news will keep coming in 2023. He said: “I look back on my first year as Centre Manager here at Dalton Park with immense pride in everyone that has contributed.

“With all eyes on the future and following the pandemic, everyone in the team has worked tirelessly to push forward with exciting plans and events. The feedback from guests showed that our efforts have paid off.

“The fact that sales are up a staggering 14.5 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, especially with the current economic climate, suggests that the value of the outlet proposition is still incredibly strong.”

In other 2022 highlights, Dalton Park’s £60,000 Play Park was officially named Shop and Slide after eight-year-old Rhys Savin won a competition to design the new official logo.

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Security Officer Connor Turnbull was named Visit County Durham’s Tourism Superstar and moved on to the national awards hosted by Visit England and Dalton Park was named a finalist in the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable business category of the North East Tourism Awards.

There was also an Easter Maze, celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, a summertime BeachFest and Halloween events.

Christmas decorations were made from sustainable recycled sugar cane, which emit up to ten times less emissions than traditional lights.