A BUILDING firm has been crowned the best in the country for its work to transform a derelict building into business units.

Craig Meadows Building Contractors won the Best Commercial Project Builder in Britain at the Master Builder of the Year Awards.

The company scooped the award for the Fern Court development, which saw the old JH Fern Joiners at the foot of Clitheroe Castle turned into 10 offices with kitchens, meeting room and disabled access.

Judges were impressed by work the firm, which is based in Whalley Road, Clitheroe, carried out to extend areas of the original building and renovate some of the old mills.

Workers also had to tank limestone walls at the foot of the castle to make them damp proof.

Deep foundations normally excavated by large plant machinery also had to be laid to meet building reg-ulations despite a small digger only been able to fit on the Moor Lane site.

Mr Meadows, 42, founded the business five years ago.

He said: "The project was a logistical nightmare and there was no room to get any machinery on site.

"The project rose from six months to 11 months but we soldiered on and managed to complete it.

"There was a lot of companies from all over the country and it was a surprise when we won and fantastic for the company."

Husband and wife and independent fin-ancial advisors, John and Sam Turner, were behind the project.

The couple secured £103,000 worth of funding from the Rural Lancashire Development Grant and Lancashire County Developments to help cover the cost of converting the old workshop.

During building work a previously hidden walkway that runs from the property, down to the centre of Clitheroe was unearthed.

The Master Builder of the Year Awards are organised by the Federation of Master Builders, the UK's largest building trade association.

Mr Turner said: "Having lived through every day of the project, I can honestly say there was never a cross word exchanged.

"Everyone agrees that Craig has done a wonderful job and at our official opening, 90 per cent of Fern Court Business Centre's units were already let."