More than a million pounds will be spent to secure the renaissance of Bingley town centre when the relief road opens in autumn 2003.

As work started in earnest on the biggest civil engineering project the district has seen, residents of Bingley and traders - who have waited more than 30 years for the road to be built - were already discussing their vision of the future of the market town.

In a workshop at Bingley Arts Centre to brainstorm improvements which would benefit the town, residents heard that Bradford Council had ring-fenced £1.1 million from capital receipts from the sale of land which would be spent on boosting the market town.

Bingley has suffered from lack of aesthetic and practical development because people were reluctant to spend any money on upgrades until a decision was reached on proposals for a town centre bypass.

About 40 people who attended the first session put forward a shopping list of how the cash should be spent with pedestrianisation, a one-way system for Main Street and more car parking places suggested as high priority.

Nick Riding, senior planning officer at Bradford Council, said by taking action now, confidence of potential investors would be increased and more business people would be attracted to the area.

"Bingley has three rivers - the river Aire, the canal... and the river of steel going along Main Street each day. We want to discharge through-traffic when the road is built, we do not want people coming through town and going out the other side."

Bingley resident Alan McCormick said Gordon Street in Saltaire was a positive example of how on-street parking could aid trade because drivers could stop and pop into the shops easily.

"There are four banks in Bingley and you cannot get anywhere near them.We need to have some form of on-street parking."

Other ideas included creating a public square near the arts centre, reducing shop rates, slowing down traffic and installing public toilets.

Meanwhile existing businesses gave a mixed reaction to the work which is expected to boost the town's economy while it is carried out and pave the way for new investment.

Brian Loughrey, who owns Simply Scrumptious sandwich shop on Main Street, described the start of the road as "magic" and said he would consider doing a contractors special sandwich to cater for the custom the work could bring.

"We have been through a lean time through foot and mouth, with all businesses in Bingley suffering and trade right down. So hopefully an influx of workers will benefit everyone."

"The workshops are looking at how the town can be improved in three years' time, but people need to pull together to try to encourage more business into town now so when the relief road is completed we will be up and running."

Pat Oxley who runs Five Rise Hotel with her husband William said she hoped people involved in the construction project would keep her nine-bedroom business ticking over.

"About a month ago we started taking inquiries for accommodation from people involved with the road with several people ringing from Cheshire and London. It tends to be people on a senior level like architects and people up the line.

"Hopefully it will boost our business and residents will bring other people into Oxley's Restaurant for entertaining, especially when people are coming in from head office to see the scheme."

"The road will allow more tourists to come to the area and for Bingley to get back to being a nice market town."

"It will also help Bingley change. There has been a lot of work done in Keighley and Shipley but in Bingley it has been difficult because people are waiting for the road."

John Newsham, landlord of the Ferrands Arms in Bingley, said: "It may well boost trade. I am hoping if contractors are staying round here they might want to come in for a pint and socialise after work."

However Keith Yardley of Five Rise Taxis expressed concern about delays the construction may cause.

"A few of the workers might use the taxis but they are not going to be going very far. There might be a small increase in usage but drivers will spend a lot more time queuing in traffic while the road is being built because there will be a lot of upheaval while the bridge is being built at Crossflatts."

Phil Girling, construction director for Amec, said of the 500-strong workforce, some people had been brought in through local recruiting agencies, some materials would come from local quarries and about 50 items of plant machinery had been hired locally for the job.

"As a company we make positive use of the resources and labour and it has to have a knock on effect for the local economy because there will be people spending their working day in Bingley and so they will spend their money there.":

"People will be living here and lodging here and a lot of items purchased even for the offices will be bought through local suppliers for example, photocopying paper."