Behind the scenes at the depot where Blackpool Illuminations are worked on
We speak with the man responsible for making sure the Illuminations shine as brightly as possible in Blackpool
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
Ever the centre of political rows, it remains the case that the Illuminations are a fantastic advert for Blackpool and bring millions to the local economy.
For today’s edition, we met with Richard Williams - the man ultimately responsible for making sure they are as good as they can be. And not always having the budget he would wish for it to happen.
He tells the story of feeling incredibly proud and fortunate to work with the responsibility he does - but also the need to accept that many of his ideas stay on the drawing board.
Blackpool briefing
🩺 Blackpool Council has appointed a team with ‘lived experience’ as it looks to create better quality adult social care after a damning “inadequate” CQC report last year. The voices of people with real experience of adult social care have helped form a co-production board to ensure people with lived experience of adult social care, for either themselves or people they support, will shape the council’s improvement plan. The council is currently working with care partners across the town to create better quality adult social care and create stronger communities in the town. It comes after the CQC (Care Quality Commission) rated Blackpool Council’s adult social care “inadequate” in a highly critical report in August last year. Although inspectors found that staff were passionate about their work and proud to work for the council, they concluded services suffered from poor safeguarding, weak leadership, and fragmented strategies for mental health and substance abuse. Inspectors found inefficient assessment processes, limited independence for service users, and inequitable care, particularly for LGBTQIA+ individuals Since then, Blackpool Council has established an improvement board and began implementing measures to enhance senior management oversight, strengthen safety training, and improve user involvement.
🍦 Proposals by a Blackpool seafront hotel to sell ice cream on its forecourt as part of a beach-themed garden enhancement area have been thrown out by planners. The scheme was planned for the Craig Y Don Hotel at 209-217 Central Promenade, one of the most prominent hotels in Blackpool. A planning application was submitted to Blackpool Council’s planners for the erection of a seasonal temporary building to the front forecourt for use as ice cream kiosk, ancillary to existing hotel use. The applicants were applying for a certificate of lawfulness for the proposals instead of planning permission, believing that the kiosk would not constitute ‘development ‘ which is defined as the carrying out of building, engineering, mining, or other operations or the making of any material change in the use of buildings or land. However, the planning officer decreed that, contrary to what he applicants had been told, the plans did constitute development and planning permission was needed. The application for the certificate of lawfulness was refused.
🍴 Police are objecting to an application for a new premises licence at a takeaway food outlet in Blackpool town centre which would see it open until 5am each night. The operators of Just Hungry, at 7 Topping Street, have applied to Blackpool Council for the premises license which will be considered by the licensing panel on Friday April 17. If granted, it would see the business, which opened in November and offers a popular selection of hot food refreshments currently from 11am until 8pm, also open from 11pm to 5am from Monday to Sunday each week. Police have objected on several grounds, pointing to the level of recorded crime in the area over the past two years, specifically within a 100 metre radius from the property. The police also stated that the applicant has a recent drink driving conviction.
Behind the scenes at the depot where Blackpool Illuminations are worked on
By Michael Holmes
Decades-old Illuminations sit inside a state-of-the-art depot behind Blackpool Airport - a neat reflection of how their boss thinks the show should evolve.
Richard Williams is trying to balance heritage with modern efficiency: the charm that has defined the Lights for generations with the technology needed to keep them running.
Specially made plastic LED bulbs from the Far East - designed to withstand harsh coastal conditions - now illuminate vintage tableaus. Alongside them, giant, alien-like sculptures are being refurbished to sit alongside traditional festoons.
Some ideas, though, remain out of reach, with some plans for major new attractions shelved because of cost.
Asked whether cashflow or the weather is his biggest concern, Williams does not hesitate: “Both.”
There is also a recognition that the Illuminations are more than a line on a balance sheet. They are a source of civic pride - and a proven economic driver.
A recent council report found that for every £1 spent on the Lights, around £200 is generated for the local economy.
The display itself includes more than 500 festoons, 30 large-scale installations, 526 columns and more than a million bulbs.
Williams is not responsible for setting the budget.
Instead, he oversees a team of 41 staff tasked with maintaining an attraction that first debuted before the invention of the electric light bulb.
“I just say, ‘Give me more money,’” he says.
On a warm Wednesday afternoon, workers in high-vis jackets move around the vast depot preparing for another season - one likely to bring far less forgiving conditions along the Fylde coast.
They vary in age and experience, but share a common aim: to keep the six-mile display looking its best.
Fresh from a trip to Zagreb, where an annual festival of light is funded through a tourist tax, Williams wonders whether a similar approach could ever work in Blackpool.
For now, he accepts that “the cloth has had to be cut”.
Displays have been spaced out, and new ideas often remain on the drawing board.
Of a £2.7m overall budget, around £1.7m remains after central costs, including asset depreciation - roughly half of what Williams believes is needed.
Even so, his enthusiasm for the future is clear.
A new tableau designed by singer and TV presenter Toyah Willcox is under construction, complete with a 28-minute bespoke soundtrack and narration.
Odyssey - the largest installation to date - is being transformed, while South Shore is set to get a new laser and water feature called Venus.
With the season now running until January rather than ending in November - a change introduced during Covid and later retained - efficiency has become even more important.
“Ultimately, we are an economic tool,” Williams says.
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