Sandfields (Welsh: ''Traethmelyn'') is a mainly residential district of

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The area is located in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

on a narrow

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

between Mynydd Dinas and the sea. The

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, A48 trunk road and

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...

run nearby. The area includes a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, industrial areas and a seaside resort at

Aberavon Beach Aberavon Beach ( cy, Traeth Aberafan), also known as Aberavon Sands, is a three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach on the north-eastern edge of Swansea Bay in Port Talbot, Wales. With its high breaker waves, it is popular with surfers. Aber ...

Background

The Sandfields estate, consisting mainly of semi-detached houses, was built between 1947 and 1955 to initially house workers for Port Talbot steelworks. In 2017, 1,800 of the 3,000 homes were owned by a social housing provider.

Government

The area encompasses the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

s of

Sandfields West Sandfields West ( cy, Gorllewin Traethmelyn) is an electoral ward and a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. The ward elects three county councillors to Neath Port Ta ...

and

Sandfields East Sandfields East ( cy, Dwyrain Traethmelyn) is an electoral ward and a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. The ward elects three county councillors to Neath Port Talbot ...

, part of the

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county bor ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Prior to 1974 Sandfields was a ward to

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local ...

, represented by a Labour Party councillor.

Social conditions

The two electoral wards covering Sandfields were ranked in top 50 most deprived wards in Wales in the 2000 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. In the 2005 index, Sandfields West was one of the 10% most deprived wards in Wales. It is the most densely populated ward in Neath Port Talbot.

Afan Lido

The Afan Lido

leisure centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people ...

was opened by the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

in 1965. The facility formerly included a 50m competition

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, which was later converted into a 25m leisure pool called the "Aquadome" with

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to si ...

s when the complex was re-fitted during the mid-1990s. The Lido also has a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

, and

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

where famous bands have played, including in recent years

McFly McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...

, All Saints,

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

and

Lostprophets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike ...

. The Lido was the site of a major fire on 16 December 2009 which broke out in the Aquadome part of the complex. Residents in surrounding streets were evacuated due to fears of the safety of chemicals in the fire that broke through the centre's roof. The centre has since been closed and demolished.

Education

Sandfields Comprehensive School was the first purpose-built

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

in Wales when it opened in 1958. In 2000, it was recognised by the Welsh Secondary Schools Association (WSSA) as the most improved school in Wales. The school has produced a number of sportsmen and women who have represented Wales at international level, including rugby players Allan Martin and Les Keen (ex-

Aberavon RFC Aberavon RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Aberafan) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 ...

); footballers

Brian Flynn Brian Flynn may refer to: * Brian Flynn (footballer) (born 1955), Welsh football manager * Brian Flynn (baseball) (born 1990), American baseball player * Brian Flynn (cricketer) (1929-1986), Australian cricketer * Brian Flynn (ice hockey) Brian ...

and Laura May Walkely of Arsenal Ladies Football Team. The school closed in 2016 due to it being replaced by Ysgol Bae Baglan and was demolished in 2017. Ysgol Bae Baglan an all-through school in

and opened in 2016 following the closure of Sandfields Comprehensive school,

Glan Afan Comprehensive School Glan Afan Comprehensive School () was a mixed comprehensive school which served the town of Port Talbot, Wales, and its surrounding areas for 120 years. It was opened in 1896 as Port Talbot Intermediate School under the provisions of the Welsh In ...

and

Cwrt Sart Comprehensive School Cwrt Sart Community Comprehensive was a school located in Briton Ferry, Neath, Wales. It was one of the secondary schools in Neath Port Talbot, taking pupils aged 11 to 16. It opened as a council school in 1920. Closure proposals In the autumn ...

in 2016. Several

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s are located within the Sandfields Estate including Tywyn and Awel Y Mor.

Community Archives Wales

The Port Talbot Historical Society and Community Archives Wales meet at Sandfields' Library.

Nearest Places

Baglan Bay Baglan Bay ''(Welsh: Bae Baglan)'' is a part of the Swansea Bay coastline and a district of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan Bay is also the name of a local government community. Baglan Bay is served by the M4 Motorway and the A48 ...

* Baglan *

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

References

External links

Sandfields Comprehensive School

Port Talbot Historical Society
*
Sandfields Primary School
{{coord, 51, 35, 37.00, N, 3, 48, 11.00, W, type:city, display=title Districts of Neath Port Talbot Glamorgan electoral wards Swansea Bay Port Talbot