It really is quite a relief!

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Wednesday 22nd Dec 2004.

B

efore the relief road opened there were 36,000 vehicles passing through the town centre each day with all the associated noise and pollution," says Bingley's town centre manager David Dinsey.

"I am pleased to say that a year on the quality of life for those that work, shop and visit the town has greatly improved to such an extent that it is now extremely pleasant to walk along Main Street and to carry on a conversation with ease."

For Mr Dinsey the relief road has opened up what was once a choked town centre and transformed it into a pleasant attraction which has become a pull for new businesses.

And he hopes that when the 1970s Myrtle Walk shopping centre is finally developed green eyes will focus on Bingley from other areas of Bradford.

He said: "The building of the new road was the first part of the town's regeneration jigsaw puzzle which has had the effect of kick-starting many new businesses, bringing the vacant retail units down to only 13 - of which eight are within the precinct.

"There is also a substantial amount of new residential building taking place within the proximity of the town centre making good use of long-vacant brown field sites along side the canal and further good news is that the new public toilets are soon to be opened.

"I am ever hopeful that, in the not too distant future, a decision will be made regarding the future of the rather sad Myrtle Walk precinct."

The opening of the mammoth £47.9 million relief road project was the culmination of more than 30 years of campaigning by residents to relieve the almost constant traffic jams on the A650 through Bingley.

The Telegraph & Argus has campaigned for traffic relief in the Aire Valley ever since the first plans were discussed in the 1960s.

The T&A dedicated thousands of column inches to the road's bumpy history of twists and turns, with front page stories, editorial comment and detailed features keeping readers informed from the verybstart right until the present day, as contoversy still rages about congestion in the rest of the valley.

Shipley MP Chris Leslie said: "One year on and the benefits of the Bingley Relief Road have shown this investment was well worthwhile.

"For Bingley town it has meant one year free from traffic congestion, a year of vastly improved living conditions and environment along Main Street, and a year of easier, convenient travelling across the district."

Mr Leslie agreed that the redevelopment of the Myrtle Walk shopping precinct was a priority and Main Street had to be regenerated to "capitalise on the removal of traffic congestion".

The road was first suggested by the Department of Transport in 1968 and the scheme went through three public consultations in 1975, 1990 and 1993 before permission was finally given by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in 1998.

It is estimated the road, which stretches for three miles from Crossflatts roundabout to a new roundabout by the Ramada Jarvis Bankfield Hotel in Cottingley, diverts about 30,000 vehicles a day from Bingley town centre.

Since the road opened, plans for the regeneration of the town centre have been high on the agenda.

The Highways Agency has granted £235,000 to Bradford Council to improve crossings and traffic signals in Bingley following the de-trunking of the road through the town centre to the Council.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said negotiations were continuing with Bradford Council to de-trunk the road into Council control but said no date had been set for the passing over of the three-mile stretch.

A further £1.1m has been set aside for a planned pedestrianisation scheme along Main Street and a link road on Wellington Street but these ideas are to be shelved until a decision has been made on the future of the shopping centre and the Aire Valley masterplan is published next spring.

Pauline Wood, president of Bingley Chamber of Trade, said: "Bingley is seeing an unprecedented revival. There has been an explosion of new shops opening during the recent months."

Mrs Wood said beauty shops, hairdressers and nail clinics had opened this year and many ranges of clothes were now available in the town.

"There is a definite buzz about Bingley these days and I am confident that the town will go from strength to strength."

Bev Ford left her job as success co-ordinator at Beckfoot School to open the Shoo Box with childhood friend Evaun Hawksworth earlier this year.

Mrs Ford said the opening of the relief road had made the town centre more accessible and more attractive to shoppers and tourists and felt it was an ideal time to open the fashion clothing shop in Bingley.

Mrs Ford said: "Everybody who has come into the shop has had positive things to say to us. They have said this is just what the town needs to raise its profile."

Eileen Sinclair, secretary of Bingley Civic Trust, said: "I must admit that the road has made such an impact that you can now get across Main Street without fear.

"I feel there are more people coming into Bingley to shop at Safeway and in the rest of the town centre. It's a much more pleasant place."

Mark McChesney, of Baildon, quit his job as a teacher to open a food delicatessen in Bingley.

The 48-year-old opened Taste Matters in Chapel Lane in September and said he opted for a change of career after seeing the reduction in the town centre's traffic.

The former Carlton Bolling College technology teacher said: "I knew that the situation with the relief road was going to improve the town centre greatly."

And Kay Adams, of Kay Krafts, said: "People feel better about coming into Bingley as there isn't the amount of traffic coming through the town centre."

And it has not just been in the town centre where the relief road has been hailed a success.

Engineers tackled a range of complex issues along the route, including having to build a jetty across the South Bog, which is a site of special scientific interest.

A viaduct was built across the River Aire and there is also a major junction in the town centre at Ferncliffe Road to allow traffic to join the road.

These efforts have not gone without recognition. The relief road won one of Britain's most prestigious architectural awards, the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award 2004, in October.

It pipped 16 other developments on a shortlist for the prize, including major projects like the redevelopment of London's Trafalgar Square.

Charly Clark, who helped to construct the road, won a prestigious individual prize for his contribution.

Mr Clark, of design and construction contractor AMEC, was awarded the civil engineering manager of the year award by the Institute of Civil Engineers.

He also won Bingley Civic Trust's award for his work on the project.

And with the environmental improvement work gathering pace in Bingley and business booming, next Christmas could see every retail unit filled and more awards presented as the town continues to improve.

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