Some of the best ideas are born in the pub and, as a group of public-spirited Bingley residents sat discussing the future of their town, a clear idea emerged.

Huddled around a table in the Brown Cow, the founders of the Better Bingley Campaign dreamed of a main street free from congestion and decided to push the proposal for a relief road from Crossflatts to Cottingley Bar.

A decade on and the action group's dream is about to become reality. The first sods of soil will be turned over in the summer as work on the £47.9 million Main Road bypass begins.

Champagne celebrations to mark the group's milestone anniversary were staged at an informal meeting.

But from now on it is business as usual as vital consultations begin with traders and residents to plan for the renaissance of a town which has been blighted by traffic.

The Better Bingley Campaign began in May 1991 after David Wilcock, of Harden, felt Bingley needed an umbrella group to represent the interests of its different organisations.

"A lot of splinter groups had views on the bypass and about trying to improve Bingley and it was decided that we should have one body representing the town speaking on behalf of the bulk of the residents and creating a bigger voice," said Mr Wilcock.

"We met up and Olwen Vasey of the Telegraph & Argus came up with the name which summed up what we wanted to achieve."

Mr Wilcock was elected first chairman and took the helm at an inaugural meeting at Beckfoot School when representatives included Bingley Historical Society, Bingley Chamber of Commerce, Bradford Urban Wildlife Group and Mario's Cafe.

During its decade of work, the group has spearheaded campaigns to save the post office and police station from closure, created a much-loved Riverside Walk by the bank of the River Aire, and prompted improvements to lighting and street cleaning which have been a huge benefit to residents.

But its main aim was always to secure the relief road to take some of the cars from the traffic-choked town centre, and under the leadership of Philip Smith the group achieved a remarkable feat.

A petition launched by members drew 12,500 signatures - half the adult population of Bingley and surrounding villages - and it was presented to deputy prime minister John Prescott. It was a move which helped to secure the scheme.

Mr Smith said the group acted at the right time to preserve what was important and help bring investment into the town.

"When I came to Bingley more than 20 years ago and started to look at the town I was inspired by its character," he said.

"But it degenerated very quickly into what appeared to be neglect and everything got very tatty, especially the streets and the precinct.

"The group worked to improve that and I think there is very little that has been done in Bingley without pressure from groups like the Better Bingley Campaign."

Another past chairman, Andrew Vaux, congratulated the group and said it was a good platform for the self-promotion of the town, while current chairman Pat Rand, who was with the group from the start, said she couldn't believe its campaign had spanned ten years.

Councillor Colin Gill (Cons: Bingley) described the Better Bingley group as an important forum which helped councillors formulate resolutions for policy, such as the re-modelling of Main Street.

He said: "Although the BBC is now ten years old, I hope it will continue to become not just an awkward teenager but never set in its ways."

Looking back over its history, Mr Wilcock praised the work of the committee.

"To see an idea that was sown as a small seed and blossomed into what it is today makes me very proud," he said. "I think Bingley people have a lot to thank the Better Bingley Campaign for.

"The bulk of the people on the committee who have fought for the last ten years to get traffic improvements will view it as a start to making it a better Bingley and not the end. It is power to the committee's elbow that they will continue to fight."

Better Bingley campaigners are pictured celebrating a decade of success in the town centre last night with

chairman Pat Rand, centre