Second bidder for Peaky Blinders mill details plan

There have been numerous break-ins at the Dalton Mills complex

A second developer interested in buying a historic mill complex in Keighley has outlined his plan for the site.

Iftikar Hussain is one of an undisclosed number of bidders trying to purchase Dalton Mills to turn it into apartments or commercial lets.

The Keighley-based developer is currently finishing a project on the former George Hattersley & Sons textile engineering works site in the town centre.

The mill buildings have been the subject of a number of arson attacks and the Crown Estate took responsibility for the site after the previous owner went bankrupt and a restoration project collapsed.

The mill buildings are Grade II listed and have had a number of owners over the years

Mr Hussain said his scheme would either turn parts of the mill into apartments or commercial lets, including workshops, offices or studio spaces.

He would then sell the finished projects off to finance the next phase of development, with the whole scheme scheduled to take five years.

"The important thing in all of this is that the numbers need to add up," he said.

"People can come up with all sorts of ideas but that doesn't mean they will work in reality."

Mr Hussain carried out the renovation of the historic North Street arcade, including creating 14 apartments, in 2014.

But his plans to create a waste sorting and recycling facility on the former site of Devonshire Mill attracted 200 objections and were eventually rejected by Bradford Council in 2022.

One bidder's plan includes registering the mills as a community-owned asset

Not-for-profit Future Transformation is another bidder and hopes to acquire the site for a 15-year project costing an estimated £100m.

Chief executive Tim Rogers said it would involve the site being used for business and commercial lets, but also community use.

Mr Rogers, who is also the chair of the Keighley Town Board, insists the only way to protect the complex is to register it as a community asset to ensure it does not fall into private hands again.

He said: "In order for Dalton Mills to have a sustainable future the people of the town have to own it - it's got to be community based," he said.

Both bidders have said securing the site would be their first priority.

The buildings have been targeted by vandals and last month two teenagers were found guilty of deliberately setting fire to it in 2022.

In 2013 a developer bought Dalton Mills after it had lain empty since the 1980s.

However, the main building was never renovated and was instead hired out for TV filming, including as a location for Peaky Blinders.

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