Fforestfach is a suburban district of Swansea,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

which developed during the Victorian era as part of the expansion of Swansea, and to service several collieries in the area. It lies within the Cockett ward, between the districts of

Waunarlwydd Waunarlwydd ( en, The Lord's Meadow – ''arlwydd'' is a local variant of ''arglwydd'') is a village and community in Swansea, Wales, within the newly formed Waunarlwydd ward in 2021. Wendy Lewis Labour is the first elected councillor for the ...

and

Cwmbwrla Cwmbwrla ( en, Bwrla valley) is a residential area and community of Swansea in Wales, within the Cwmbwrla ward of the city. Located on rising ground about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the city centre, it takes its name from the valley of the Bur ...

, and contains the areas of Cadle and Ravenhill. The area is residential combined with

light industry Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

and

retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. They form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, standal ...

; and is close to the M4 motorway and several dual carriageways.

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had factories in the area, but they have now ceased their operations here. Local amenities include the premises of the City of Swansea

Gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

Club, and Ravenhill Park. The nearby places are Portmead,

Gendros Gendros is a suburban district of the City and County of Swansea, Wales falling within the Cockett ward. Gendros approximates to the settlement northwest of Carmarthen Road (A483 road) between Cwmdu and Penlan. Other areas surrounding Gendros a ...

and

Penllergaer Penllergaer ( cy, Penlle'r-gaer) is a village and community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, to the east of Gorseinon, within the electoral ward of the same name. It is situated about 4.5 miles north west of Swansea city centre, near jun ...

History

The village of Fforestfach developed around the crossroad, Fforestfach Cross, of the

A483 The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and W ...

, Carmarthen Road, and the A4216 road from

Cockett Cockett ( cy, Y Cocyd) is a district and community in Swansea, Wales falling within Cockett ward. It is located about north-west of Swansea city centre. It includes the eastern half of Gowerton. Cockett, in common with much of western Swans ...

. Carmarthen Road was the old turnpike or mail coach road from Swansea to

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

. Bethlehem Chapel in the Cadle area, was originally built in 1840, although the present, Grade II listed building was built in 1866.

Economy

Fforestfach is home to an out of town shopping complex centred on Pontarddulais Road in the Cadle area to the west. The shopping area to the northeast of Pontarddulais Road has existed since the 1970s and is now called "Pontarddulais Road Retail Park". In November 2006 a Park and Ride scheme was introduced to ferry shoppers into

Swansea city centre Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centr ...

. The area to the southwest of Carmarthen Road/Pontarddulais Road, called Parc Fforest-Fach, developed in the early 2000s. The

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Extra store at Parc Fforestfach had a gross floorspace of in 2003 (and has since been expanded) making it the largest in Wales. Swansea West Business Park is the largest post-war industrial estate in Swansea. It is the location of 140 businesses employing 1,500 people. There was once a greyhound stadium based at the site, which is now closed and earmarked for re-development.

Amenities

Local amenities include the premises of the City of Swansea

Club, and Ravenhill Park. A chocolate factory on the business park, named "The Chocolate Factory", has guides and exhibits showing the process of making chocolate. Ravenhill Park was opened in 1931 after Lowe's farm was purchased for £4,170. The local primary school is the Cadle Primary School on Middle Road.

Listed buildings

Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s in Fforestfac
include:
*Capel Bethlehem including attached Vestry Block on Carmarthen Road *Carmarthen Road War Memorial *Walker Snack Food Factory on Pontarddulais Road

Cockett Railway Station

Cockett railway station Cockett railway station was a former station on the West Wales Line from Swansea to Gowerton and onwards to . The station was located on the west side of Swansea in the residential area of Cockett. History The railway line between Landor ...

not currently open on the West Wales Line.

Greyhound racing

Fforestfach had two greyhound stadiums. The first known as 'White City' on Pen-llywn-eithen farm traded from 1929 until 1946 and the second was known as the Swansea Greyhound Stadium on Ystrad Road and was open from 1949 until 2009.

References

External links

Swansea West Business Park
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Districts of Swansea