A towering Victorian eyesore opposite historic Little Germany will be demolished and replaced by a flagship office complex.

Bulldozers are expected to move onto the prime site at the junction of Harris Street and the Shipley Airedale Road by Christmas to raze the former woollen mill, built in 1887, to the ground.

The £3million four-storey complex would be ready for occupation by the end of next year after being developed by its owners Dilbag Cloth House Ltd and designed by Guiseley-based architects Watson & Batty Ltd.

Dilbag was last year listed among Yorkshire's top 100 companies and has earned its founder Dilbag Singh recognition on the Asian rich list with a fortune of £18 million.

Last year the company spent £1.5m on a facelift for its 140,000 sq ft site in Duncombe Road and has decided to develop the old woollen mill it relocated from about 12 years ago as a new venture.

The Duncombe Road site now has state-of-the-art offices, designer studios and showroom facilities and the company expects the new building it develops on the Shipley Airedale Road to attract a major tenant such as a Government department.

Dilbag Singh came to Britain just over 40 years ago with £3 in his pocket and now heads one of the largest textile importers of its type in Britain.

Today, marketing director Bobby Singh, pictured, said: "We have put millions of pounds into Bradford because we have confidence in it as a great city of the future."

He said they also welcomed the setting up of the Urban Regeneration company which is expected to trigger the renaissance of the city.

Mark Brearley, the agent dealing with the Dilbag development, said there was potential for between 150 and 200 jobs in the top-quality building, which has received planning permission from Bradford Council.

Mr Singh said it would be the third flagship office building along that stretch of the road and seemed the ideal place for a major development.

"It is a very big and prominent site and we would envisage use by a major organisation rather than several smaller tenants, but it has only just started being marketed."