Barnfield Construction which built home of Blackpool's famous illuminations celebrates 50 years in business

A construction firm responsible for completing projects on the Fylde coast, including building a home for the famous Illuminations and Whitehills Business Park, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Barnfield Construction was also responsible for providing the storage depot used by Blackpool Council to store The Illuminations.

Tim Webber founded Lancashire headquarted Barnfield in 1976 and last month 300 guests celebrated the company's golden anniversary.

He said the 50 years had "flown by" and he thanked his family and people who have worked for Barnfield for decades for their help in making the company a success.

He said: "That loyalty, that camaraderie and the friendships are probably the thing I am most proud of.

"We as a company are busy and I don't necessarily think the whole industry is busy.

"I think many of the subcontractors are feeling some pain which we see from the way they're chasing work from us."

Mr Webber said increased red tape was a barrier to success for many in the building industry.

And the slowness of the planning process had led to stagnation.

He said: "When we started, things were very simple, the planning regime was very simple. Getting started on sites was very simple.

"We used to be able to get through planning in a matter of months. Now it can take years."

"It is increasingly difficult to get through a lot of the red tape and even when you get through that process and actually start on-site, we are bombarded with all sorts of new regulations that you have to keep abreast of.

"It's a totally different world to when we started."

The Illuminations are stored at Lightworks, a £7.5m custom-built facility near Blackpool Airport at Squires Gate.

The site was bought by Barnfield's investment properties wing to create an industrial development following the success of Wellington Point.

The company was in negotiations with Blackpool Council and the flagship building was designed and built under a development agreement."

The construction project involved working to tight timescales in order to accommodate The Illuminations and staff who were due to leave their leased property on Rigby Road.

The huge 15m tall building is now home to more than 711,000kgs of equipment, the equivalent to the weight of 350 resort trams.

It also has a secure climate controlled environment to house archive drawings going back to the dawn of The Illuminations.

Nextdoor is Barnfield's new business centre with the first and second floors leased to Fujitsu Services Ltd on a nine year lease.

At Whitehills, Barnfield which is based in Nelson, developed three buildings on a 2.5 acre plot, including Apollo House and Apollo Court.

Mr Webber says he has no plans to retire after five decades in business.

He said: "There aren't many construction companies that have been around for 50 years."