Some 150 jobs have been confirmed for Hartlepool after a home and garden firm announced plans for a superstore in the town.
The Range will open later this summer on the Tees Bay Retail Park.
Hartlepool MP Iain Wright said the jobs were welcome news.
He said: "I will always try and encourage extra employment into the town, especially when Hartlepool is suffering with high-scale unemployment."
Mr Wright will speak during a north east unemployment debate in Parliament on 20 June.
