Celebrating 20 Years of Service at the Durham Dales Centre

This August, the Durham Dales Centre is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: 20 years of service from Kathryn Lowe-Oliver, a familiar, friendly and much-respected face across Weardale.

Kathryn began her career on 8 August 2006 as a Stanhope Tourist Information Centre Assistant. It was the start of a role that would grow into a long-standing career at the heart of the Durham Dales community.

Over the past two decades, Kathryn has held three roles, progressing from Durham Dales Assistant to Durham Dales Supervisor. In that time, she has supported visitors, customers, local businesses and community members alike, sharing her knowledge of the area and offering the warm welcome for which she is so well known.

For Kathryn, this is more than a job. Born and raised in Rookhope, working in the Durham Dales means being part of the community she has always called home.

That connection has taken on even greater meaning through Rookhope Business Centre. The building was once Rookhope Primary School, where Kathryn was a pupil. Her mam worked there as the school secretary for 30 years, and years later, Kathryn’s own son also attended the school before it closed.

For a time, the former school building stood empty. But in 2025, Business Durham brought new life to the site, transforming it into Rookhope Business Centre: a welcoming business and community hub in the heart of rural Weardale.

The redevelopment has given the much-loved building a new purpose while retaining its place at the centre of village life. Today, Rookhope Business Centre provides flexible office and workspace for local businesses, remote workers and entrepreneurs, alongside community rooms, meeting space and facilities designed to bring people together.

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For Kathryn, being part of that next chapter is especially meaningful. The school that once shaped her own early years is now a place she helps to manage, welcoming local businesses, remote workers and community members through its doors.

It is a story that feels particularly fitting. Kathryn’s career has always been rooted in the Durham Dales, and her role at Rookhope Business Centre reflects the importance of creating opportunities that allow local people to live and work in the places they love.

Alongside her work at Rookhope, Kathryn continues to play a central role at Durham Dales Centre. Over 20 years, she has seen the centre evolve, welcomed countless people through its doors and become a trusted point of contact for visitors and residents alike.

Reflecting on her anniversary, Kathryn said: “Over the years I have worked in three roles, all of which I have loved working in. I feel very fortunate to work in my home village and at Rookhope Business Centre, which was my old primary school. I can’t believe it has been 20 years, where has the time gone? I feel like I am part of the centre and community, and I look forward to the years ahead.”

Kathryn’s 20-year anniversary is a chance to recognise not only her dedication to Durham Dales Centre and Business Durham, but also the contribution she has made to the wider Weardale community.

Her story is one of commitment, connection and community: from pupil at Rookhope Primary School to helping manage its next chapter as a thriving business centre, while continuing to support the place and people she knows best.

Everyone at Durham Dales Centre and Business Durham would like to congratulate Kathryn on an incredible 20 years of service, and thank her for the care, knowledge and commitment she brings to the role every day.

Congratulations, Kathryn, on an incredible 20 years.