Homes, shops and a restaurant are expected to be built on a site in the heart of Manningham destroyed by fire during the 2001 riots.

The £2 million scheme could be completed in two years if planners approve it tomorrow.

It would bring jobs as well as family homes on land where a BMW car showroom and office were destroyed in the blaze almost five years ago.

Today chairman of Manningham Means Business David Cubitt said the blighted site had sent out "all the wrong signals" after the riots.

"This will draw a line in the sand and will hopefully end the pictures which that very evocative site conjured," said Mr Cubitt who helped set up the organisation of neighbourhood businesses which has worked to improve the area.

The derelict site is on the corner of Oak Lane and St Mary's Road, within the St Paul's Conservation area.

A planning application three years ago for a shopping mall on the site was turned down because of its possible effect on other retail centres and road safety issues.

However, this time officers will tell Bradford area planning committee, when it considers the application tomorrow, that the scheme complements its surroundings.

They have produced a report praising the high standard of design and say the layout has produced a safe and secure environment and reduced the opportunities for crime.

The application, by Baildon-based company Archi-Structure, is for a development named Oak Lane Plaza.

Work will start almost immediately if full consent is given for the scheme which already has outline approval.

The two-storey development would include nine Victorian-style terraced homes, apartments, six shops and a restaurant.

Al Samarrie, of Archi-Structure, said: "We want to see this site turned into something and we want to support the community."

Mr Samarrie said workers could start building the homes almost immediately if they received consent, with completion in about a year. He said work on the commercial side of the scheme would take a further year.

Motor company JCT 600 sold the site and moved into new premises in Sticker Lane after the blaze which occurred during the riots in 2001.

The new development is expected to create up to 26 jobs