Platt = a small piece of ground
Miles = a corruption of mills
Hence Miles Platting may mean 'mills on a small piece of ground'
Miles Platting had many mills by the middle of the 19th century; Holland Mill, Victoria Mill and Ducie Mill were amongst the largest. By the 1870s, a chemical works, timber yard, gas works and a tannery were also operating in the area alongside the many mills. The volume of industry in a relatively small area led to the construction of densely packed back-to-back housing to provide homes for the workforce. By the middle of the 20th century, the decline in the manufacturing industry and the closure of local industries led to Miles Platting becoming a slum area inhabited by a deprived, largely white community. Today, Miles Platting contains just under 2000 housing units, many of them managed by Manchester City Council, including 12 multi-storey blocks. The area, once recognised as one of the most deprived in the UK, has benefited from substantial urban regeneration in East Manchester, initiated in the late 1990s.
