Hafod is a district of the city of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Wales, and lies just north of the city centre, within the Landore ward. Hafod is the home to the Hafod Copperworks, founded in 1810 and closed in 1980, which is now being developed into an industrial heritage site.

Name origins

The word ''hafod'' is a Welsh word originally referring to the seasonal cycle of

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

: the movement of livestock and people from a lowland winter pasture at the main residence (Welsh ''hendre'') to a higher summer pasture from roughly May to October.

Description

The western part of Hafod is a residential

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. In the late 20th century, this was a mostly run-down area of Swansea, with property prices there being some of the lowest in the city centre area. In the new millennium, many properties in the main Neath Road (B4603) and some of the side streets have benefited from council grants to improve the façade of the properties. Beside the

River Tawe The River Tawe (; ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Glasfynydd Forest, Moel Feity in the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the ...

to the east is a small industrial strip around Morfa Road. Hafod has a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 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 restricted on the basis ...

called Pentrehafod School, and a primary school called Hafod Primary School. There used to be junior and senior schools located on the same site, but the school was ravaged by fire during the early 1990s. The new primary school was built to replace it, and new buildings were constructed within the grounds of Pentrehafod school to cater for the junior and senior pupils. The community sports facility is the Pentrehafod sports hall and pool, located in the grounds of the Pentrehafod Comprehensive School. The school is built on what was formerly the waste product dumping ground for the Morris family copper works. Neath Road is a busy thoroughfare used by buses and cars between central Swansea and the northern suburbs in and around

Morriston Morriston (; ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in the Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to ...

and

Llansamlet Llansamlet is a suburban district and Community (Wales), community of Swansea, Wales, falling into the Llansamlet (electoral ward), Llansamlet ward. The area is centred on the A48 road (named Samlet Road and Clase Road in the area) and the M4 mot ...

. There is a dedicated express bus route to the east of Neath Road, which is used by buses serving the

Landore Landore () is a district and community in Swansea, Wales. The district falls in the Landore council ward. A mainly residential area, it is located about 2.5 miles north of Swansea city centre. The north-easterly part of Landore is known as ...

Park and Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

site and the 'bendy bus' service from

Singleton Hospital Singleton Hospital () is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the ...

to Morriston Hospital.

Plans

Hafod Bypass

A bypass has been proposed for the community of Hafod for many years. Neath Road, which runs through Hafod, is a main entry point into the city of Swansea, and yet is a narrow road with terraced housing lining both sides of the street. Plans ratified by the City & County of Swansea in 2006TaweRivCorJune06pdf.pdf
June 2006 allow for the redevelopment of the western bank of the River Tawe. A new road would be constructed along a railway siding to extend the current Morfa Road, so that the new road would run from New Cut Road up to the Liberty Stadium.

References

External links

Hafod Renewal Area (about regeneration project)Photos of Hafod and surrounding area on geograph.org.ukTawe Riverside Corridor Strategy