The completion of Capital&Centric’s Weir Mill – a £60m restoration of one of Stockport’s most recognisable heritage buildings – marks the latest landmark moment in the town centre’s £2 billion regeneration.
Dating back to 1790, the Grade II-listed former cotton mill has been sensitively transformed into a distinctive riverside neighbourhood, combining 253 new homes, public spaces and independent businesses beside the River Mersey and Stockport’s iconic viaduct.
Weir Mill has been delivered by C&C in close partnership with Stockport Council and Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), with support from Homes England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Historic England. Together, partners have unlocked a long-underused heritage asset and secured its future for generations to come as a place for people to live, work, visit and spend time.
Last Thursday, partners and key stakeholders gathered at an event hosted by C&C to mark this significant milestone. Guests were given a first look around the completed scheme and a preview of what to expect from Social Osteria and The Jane Eyre ahead of their openings later this autumn.
Cllr Micheala Meikle, Stockport Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration and Skills, said:
“The completion of Weir Mill is a proud moment for Stockport and reflects the ambition and quality of regeneration across our town centre, with so much more to come.
“This building means a great deal to people locally, which is why we significantly invested to see it restored, opened up and given a new purpose for everyone in the borough and beyond to enjoy. We’re protecting what makes Stockport special while creating new homes, new jobs and more reasons for people to spend time here.
“It has taken real partnership working to bring this landmark back into use, and the result is a new neighbourhood that not only celebrates our past but makes a lasting contribution to Stockport’s thriving future.”
Lord Gavin Barwell, Stockport MDC Chair, said:
“Weir Mill is a powerful example of what the MDC was established to help deliver for the town – high-quality regeneration that respects Stockport’s heritage, attracts investment and creates places where people want to live and spend time.
“Restoring a complex historic site like this is never easy, but Stockport has proven that done well and through partnership working, heritage can be the foundation for growth, not a barrier to it. Its completion strengthens the wider town centre offer and shows the role heritage can play in creating confident, contemporary places as Stockport continues to grow.
“Regeneration in the west of the town centre has laid strong foundations for the east, where we are creating more sustainable neighbourhoods and social infrastructure, including a new school and healthcare hub, that communities need.”
Tim Heatley, Capital&Centric co-founder, said:
“There’s a real mix of pride and relief in finally completing Weir Mill. Restoring a collection of historic buildings beneath a listed viaduct, right next to a river, and turning a long-abandoned part of Stockport into somewhere people genuinely want to live was never going to be easy.
“It’s taken a huge amount of energy, determination and patience, not just from our team but from our public sector partners who stuck with the ambition when things got difficult. The best measure of whether it’s been worth it is what happens when you open the doors, and people are already voting with their feet.
“Weir Mill is spectacular, ambitious and incredibly complex. There have certainly been moments when we wondered why we’d taken it on, but standing here now, seeing it full of life again, you realise exactly why we did.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig said:
“Stockport has set the bar for how Mayoral Development Corporations can bring public and private partners together behind a shared vision and deliver meaningful change quickly and at scale.
“The completion of Weir Mill is just another example of how Stockport is delivering – it shows how regeneration can protect our heritage whilst creating new, vibrant, and well-connected places.
“As Stockport’s MDC expands and we roll out this model across Greater Manchester – alongside investment through the Good Growth Fund and our £20 million High Streets Fund – we want to see communities like Stockport’s continue to feel the benefits of Greater Manchester’s growth.”
The careful restoration retains key elements of the mill’s industrial past, from its characterful brickwork and vaulted ceilings to cast-iron features, while opening up attractive public areas with planting and seating beneath the viaduct and improving access to the riverside.
The 20,000 sq ft of commercial space brings together a mix of independent operators, including Rita Ray’s, the North’s first female-led sports bar; Bodega, a wine bar with a UK-first cellar model; Prologue, a bookshop bar and events space; Social Osteria, a seasonal Italian restaurant; The Jane Eyre, a seasonal small plates restaurant; and Kontrol, a mat and reformer Pilates studio.
The completed scheme also includes coffee shop Hustle, a Stockport business that has grown from operating from a van to a permanent home at Weir Mill, alongside resident amenities including a gym, co-working space, a mini cinema, residents’ lounge, private dining room and rooftop garden with views across the town.
The development delivers one, two and three-bedroom homes for rent across the restored mill and new-build block with in-keeping design, including 88 within the heritage building itself.
The UK’s largest town centre regeneration is being driven by Stockport MDC, which is accelerating plans for 8,000 town centre homes for all stages of life by 2040, accompanied by one million sq ft of employment space. Stockport MDC is working with partners to deliver revitalised public spaces, enhanced connectivity, and vital social infrastructure.
