Golden anniversary brings new dam contract

Tudor Griffiths Group supporting work on Clywedog Dam five decades after helping to build the structure

A SHROPSHIRE sand and gravel company is supporting a programme of work on one of the biggest dams ever to have been built in Britain – more than 50 years after it first won a contract for the project.

Tudor Griffiths Group, from Ellesmere, won the contract to supply sand and gravel for the building of the Clywedog Dam in 1964.

Now the family-owned company has been called upon once again to supply its products as part of a scheme to install a new hydroelectric system in the lower basin of the dam.

Managing director Tudor Griffiths said: ‘It’s such a great feeling to be working on the dam so many years after my grandfather first won the initial contract.’

The Clywedog Dam was built to eliminate flooding in the upper Severn valley, creating a domestic water supply for a large area of Wales and England, and also generating electricity.

The site is three miles from Llanidloes and 60 miles from Tudor Griffiths’ head office and quarry in Ellesmere.

‘When the dam was built, it really was an incredible feat of engineering, and to ensure we could supply sufficient amounts of sand and gravel, my grandfather hired every available tipper within a 30-mile radius of Ellesmere,’ said Mr Griffiths.

‘Concreting of the main dam started early in 1965 and continued until October 1967, and during that time approximately 252,000 cubic yards of concrete were placed, so it really was a massive project.’

Once the dam was complete, the area was landscaped to give it the appearance of a natural lake and the water was stocked with 17,000 trout. The Clywedog Sailing Club was also formed.

The current project on the dam involves the installation of a new 100kW hydroelectric system on the weir wall in the lower basin of the dam, where Tudor Griffiths are working alongside appointed contractors Bentleys.