One Central Park

A new concept in economic regeneration – the knowledge mill

The economy of NE Manchester was until relatively recently dominated by the cotton industry. Whilst devoted to the spinning and weaving of yarn to produce fabric, the industry spawned in its lifetime many of the technologies and industries we take for granted today to the extent that Manchester was the Silicone Valley of the industrial age. 
And at the heart of all this was the cotton mill. Communities built up around the mill, some to become large towns such as Oldham and Rochdale. The mill proved to be a very powerful  cultural, social, technical and economic driver.

The economy of NE Manchester and the surrounding area declined drastically with the death of the cotton industry. But in regenerating it the model of the mill with its ability to shape communities and to create new industries  was resurrected in the form of a knowledge mill. This is  devoted to the conversion of today’s raw material, which is knowledge, into high added value goods and services. .

One Central Park is a knowledge mill. It is located at the heart of a 472 acre development, Central Park,  on the Manchester Oldham border, alongside the A62.  One Central Park was the first building on the site and like the mills before it has been  designed to stimulate the creation  of new companies and to attract existing ones into the area creating a new economy and a new future for the people of North Manchester.