Jones Bros is providing early community benefits through work on marine energy project18th May 2023

Community engagement is always high on the agenda for Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK – and the area near the Morlais site in Anglesey is the latest to benefit.

Jones Bros is constructing the onshore infrastructure for the tidal energy scheme in Anglesey, which has the potential generating capacity of 240MW – enough to power around 180,000 typical households.

Whilst work was taking place at Parc Cybi, the Ruthin-headquartered company has had a compound and site office based at Holyhead Hotspur Football Club.

With activity at this venue ending ahead of the summer months, Jones Bros has been able to leave a legacy in the area.

Holyhead Hotspur FC has benefited from:

• The installation of new goal posts on the junior pitch
• Sponsorship of first team training kit
• Refreshed disability parking bays marking.
• Portable appliance testing (PAT) of electrical equipment
• Repairs to security fencing and fitting of new gates

Davey Hughes, a representative of Holyhead Hotspur football club, said: “We’ll be sad at the thought of no longer seeing the green Jones Bros vehicles passing the club every day.

“We want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication, and for working with us to minimise any impact on the club.”

Holyhead Leisure Centre was also boosted by the construction of planters, which have been used by a dementia group to install flowers and shrubs, whilst banners promoting swimming lessons were purchased and displayed on Jones Bros fences.

Nearby agricultural holdings have been supported with teams from Jones Bros carrying out improvements that include the enhancement or reconstruction of boundary walls, replacing dilapidated gates, erecting temporary fences for horses, and providing hardcore for access track maintenance.

The cabling route along Lon Isallt necessitated unavoidable road closures with extensive diversions.

Jones Bros negotiated passage for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operations manager for Trearddur Bay to travel through his neighbour’s farmyard to avoid delays in attending emergencies.

In addition, there was also a three-figure donation to the RNLI with money raised following a site football World Cup sweepstake.

Bryn Williams, Jones Bros public liaison officer on Morlais, said: “It’s always of huge importance to us as a company on each and every job we do that we can help the local community.

“Morlais is no different; the community work the team has done on top of the demands of the scheme, is very good to see.

“We hope that we have been able to enhance the area around the football club and leisure centre since we arrived in February 2022.”

Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.

The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.

The company runs an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which has produced nearly 40 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited more than 100 apprentices during the past three years.

Morlais is the largest UK tidal energy development run by a social enterprise. Once constructed it will see clean electricity generated off the coast of Anglesey.

With onshore construction already underway it is anticipated that work in the sea will begin in 2023 and that the first turbines will generate electricity in 2024.