Press Releases

July 04 2006

The OCP's Knowledge Mill puts East Manchester

A unique collaboration between three of the region's top universities, University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University, together with Manchester Science Park (MSP) and MANCAT, is launched today (4 July 2006). This £18 million venture bridges the gap between academia and business and represents an innovative new development in east Manchester. The three universities, MSP and MANCAT have come together under one roof to provide access to further and higher education and business incubation and accommodation for this part of the city.

One Central Park is a knowledge mill that will deliver cutting edge research, development and educational facilities in a purpose-built 120,000 sq ft building on Central Park, the UK's first large-scale, urban ICT business park.

This innovative new facility, which received over £8 million from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), combines education and business and is designed to stimulate and nurture entrepreneurial talent. At the launch event Prof David Auckland, Chief Executive of One Central Park, said: "One Central Park's existence is based on a unique bridge between academia, industry and the business development community. It creates an environment where talented and creative individuals and enterprises are able to generate real value from the new business opportunities that will emerge from the OCP enterprise train. We have a perfect mix of partners all working together to achieve our vision of creating new jobs and wealth in Manchester and the wider region."

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "This facility demonstrates that Manchester is at the forefront of the post-industrial revolution. OCP is a real and significant boost for our plans to make Manchester a Knowledge Capital. It is a development that will, in turn, accelerate the regeneration of east Manchester by priming its economic revival. This will make a real difference to the people of east Manchester and their chances of a bright new future."

Robert Hough, chairman of New East Manchester Ltd said: "Central Park is the cornerstone for east Manchester's economic future. OCP is designed to capture entrepreneurial talent and help it flourish whilst creating a gateway for local residents into ICT and further and higher education. East Manchester is historically an incredibly entrepreneurial part of the city, where the industrial revolution began, so it is fitting that this innovative new centre is located here, creating a new enterprise revolution."

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said: "Stimulating the growth of the region's businesses and encouraging new business start ups is absolutely vital to continued economic development of the Northwest. In order to do this, providing innovative, high quality facilities that are closely linked to the region's leading higher education institutions is crucial, helping to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and enabling businesses to benefit from the knowledge, research and expertise available through the learning and education sector. One Central Park's world class facilities will help to strengthen the region's knowledge base, creating enormous opportunities for businesses and generating significant new learning opportunities for the local community."