| Treforest Industrial Estate | |
The origins of the Treforest Industrial Estate lie with the formation of the 'South Wales and Monmouthshire Trading Estates Ltd.' in June 1936. This was a non-profit making company whose aim was to establish one or more trading estates in Wales to diversify employment and to provide some alternative to the coal and steel industries, which were in decline. Their first and most difficult task as a company was to find a site for the first Trading Estate, and on the 20th of July, after detailed reports on a number of sites had been considered, an agreement was reached that the Treforest site was the most suitable for their purpose.The first sod was cut on the 29th December 1936 and by the end of 1937 three small factories were completed and occupied, employing 69 people. The first building contract awarded was in fact for a large factory for the British Coated Board and Paper Company Ltd (Wiggins Teape), who were to have a long and successful relationship with Treforest Industrial Estate. |
The site before the development of the Trading Estate showing the rural nature of the landscape. |
| When war broke out a few years later the Trading Estate was well on the road to success and throughout the war years the estate played an increasingly important role in the war effort and national economy. The growing importance of the estate was reflected in 1941 when it received a royal visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The operation of the Estate was seriously disrupted during this period with many factory buildings requisitioned by the Government and their occupants re-housed in makeshift buildings away from the estate. Extensions and even whole new factories were built by Government departments for their own purposes from 1939 to 1945. These activities led to a dramatic increase in the number of people working on the estate, with almost 16,000 people being employed there by the beginning of 1944. The end of the war saw the release of requisitioned space, and the return of a number of firms that had been moved from the estate, many of which required premises larger than they had previously held. | |
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| At this period the estate was to come under the control of a number of different bodies. The first change occurred in 1946 when it came under the control of the Wales and Monmouthshire Industrial Estates Ltd. Further changes occurred in 1960 and 1976 when the Estate came under the control of the 'Welsh Industrial Estates Corporation' and the Welsh Development Agency (who still manage the site today). The site has changed over the years, with many of the old factory units being replaced by larger and differently designed factories to meet the demand of the 21st century. In recent years there has been a change in the types of businesses leasing properties on the estate with a move towards providing leisure facilities and out of town office accommodation. However despite these changes, perhaps even because of them, the Treforest Industrial Estate is still a highly successful venture, providing employment for large numbers of people. |
Treforest Trading Estate circa 1950 |
