'Phoenix will rise from ashes' pledge owners of fire ravaged Drummond Mill

Khalid Pervaiz, whose family owned the mills for 16 years before they were destroyed in a huge blaze in January this year, was at an official unveiling of murals which have gone up along Lumb Lane to screen the on-going demolition of what was left of the listed building.

Mr Pervaiz, 61, who also runs Huddersfield-based SKA Textiles, told people at the event, including Bradford Council's new leader Susan Hinchcliffe that he and his family will put the site back into use for the community.

And he asked the community to bear with them for the next few months while demolition specialists raze the remains of the mill to the ground and clear the vast site.

When the fire raged, nearby residents had to be evacuated leaving their homes while up to 125 firefighters had tackled the fire at its peak.

Mr Pervaiz said: "It was quite a blow for us when it happened but we are going to bring the site back into use. It will be like a phoenix rising again to serve the community."

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He added: "We need to get it cleaned up first then we will put it back to mixed-use for the community. Education will be a forerunner and then look at it as an employment site in keeping with its past and also general mixed-use for the community."

Not much of the historic mill building was left standing after the inferno, seen from miles around, swept through it the complex at the start of the year causing part of it to collapse. It was home to businesses and a number of community and art groups.

The blaze was so severe that investigating firefighters have not been able to come up with a cause and probably will never be able to find out.

Mr Pervaiz's SKA Textiles was only one of the sponsors of the murals art project which also include Bradford Council and Yorkshire and Manningham housing associations. It was co-ordinated by community development worker Muppett, of Bradford’s community empowerment group CNet.

Also involved were artists from Cecil Green Arts, which was based in the mill before the disastrous fire destroyed five years' worth of work, including giant puppets and lanterns, tools and materials valued at a total of about £12,000.

The artists ran workshops at the nearby Deaf Centre in Hallfield Road inviting school children and people from other neighbourhood groups to take part and get creative.

Harry Kingham, of Cecil Green Arts, said: "We had three years in the mills rent-free and it's only now we are saying it was such a gift we received.

"We hope to keep up and build on the relationships we have made here but we have good news that we are now in a new temporary place in Darley Street and have got plans for Bradford Festival going on in there."