A Ruthin firm has played a key role in celebrations to mark the launch of the 2008 season at the prestigious Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, Nant Gwrtheyrn.

Jones Bros civil engineering company Managing director, Huw Jones and Project Manager, Brian Roberts, joined Welsh Assembly deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones and civic dignitaries as the centre officially re-opened.

The firm has just completed a £360,000 contract to improve the access road and car parking at the centre, which runs intensive week-long and weekend language courses for Welsh learners.

It attracts business people, groups and individuals from all over the world to learn one of Europe’s oldest languages in the breath-taking surroundings of Nant Gwrytheyrn, a former quarrying village on the Llyn Peninsular, near Pwllheli.

The centre, in a scenic valley, specialises in Welsh for adults residential courses for all levels from complete beginners to more advanced Welsh students.

Jones Bros constructed the original roads on the site more than 20 years ago. It has now upgraded them to cater for increased traffic as the acclaimed centre has become busier.

Project Manager, Brian Roberts, who has been with Jones Bros 37 years, said: “We installed passing bays, improved surfaces and car parks and built new high containment walls and crash barriers on hair-pin bends.”

The three month contract involved a seven-strong Jones Bros team.

Company managing director Huw Jones, who attended the opening, said: “It’s a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the tutors and staff at Nant Gwrytheyrn that the centre has been such a success. It is one of the leading centres in promoting the Welsh language, and has the advantage of being set in a truly beautiful part of North Wales.

“We are delighted to have played a part in furthering its success. We congratulate the entire Welsh Language Centre team and wish them well in the years ahead.”

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “Nant Gwrtheyrn plays a very special role in the strengthening of our language and culture. It is a fitting comment on its success that the road access and car parking has had to be improved to cope with increasing traffic. I congratulate Jones Bros on a job well done.”

A family-owned company, Jones Bros employs 240 and carries out civil engineering contracts across the UK. Its specialisms include highways, business park developments, waste management and land remediation, wind farms, coastal protection and marine infrastructure.