Fariwater, Cardiff - Advice please?

almwales

My other half and I are first time buyers looking to buy in the Cardiff area. We have found a property that ticks our boxes in Fairwater near Fairwater Primary School but know little about the area. We have read threads which give mixed responses. If anybody who knows about the area could give us some guidance on what it is like as a place to live we would be so grateful!


Thanks
A & L

mrsbee17

I had a boyfriend from Radyr and he always referred to Fairwater as quite 'rough'. This may have changed or have been just his opinion. Have you visited the area at different times in the day? Try and get a good feel for it before you commit.

ST1991

Have you looked at crime stats on the police website? Take it with a pinch of salt, but compare the overall numbers to other areas that you know better. You can also look to see where crimes are most committed (certain streets...)

gettingtheresometime

My advice if you're moving to a strange area is to rent first.

That way you can suss out areas for yourself as one man's rough area is another's lovely area

trevormax

It is a nice enough area. Like all places, Fairwater has good and bad bits. The area near to the school (Fairwater Green area) is close to the border with Ely/Caerau which isn't a good place in all honesty (coming from someone who lived in Ely).

You have Birdies Lane leading off from Bwlch Road Fairwater to Plymouthwood Road/Heol Muston Ely (which is a pretty rough part of Ely) and acts as a pedestrian shortcut between Ely and Fairwater.

You have St Fagans woods and the Plymouth great woods nearby which is a gigantic magnet for illegal off road bikers on any sunny day and most weekends. These bikers often go out in large groups and when they get bored of the woods, they like to go on to the roads and drive like !!!! heads. As the entire area is like a basin in shape, the sound from the off road bikes carries a lot.

Some of the areas in Fairwater are your basic council sink estates containing both nice council tenants and scummy chav tenants. Much of Ely and Caerau is council housing with a lot of rough areas (I can name a dozen roads you couldn't pay me to live in in Ely/Caerau). The local scroats travel too and from Fairwater via Birdies lane and the railway bridge.

Cantonian High School is the local main highschool and it is alright. There are some much better and some much worse. It is kind of a middle ground.

There are plenty of much worse areas in Cardiff, including StMellons (not old StMellons), Llanederyn, Rumney and Llanrumney. Overall, Fairwater is not a bad part of Cardiff.

There is a police station nearby which covers a large area. The local neighbourhood policing team (PCSO's) are great and friendly. My advice would be to try to track one down and ask them about the road you are thinking of moving to. They will have massive local knowledge and will be able to put local crime statistics to shame. Be very careful if you move on to the same road or an adjacent road to a primary school. The parents in the area can be lazy when it comes to parking and agressive when confronted.

I agree with advice given about renting there for a short while. If that is not possible, visit there on a sunny weekend or in the late evening. Drive near to the shops and visit the local library (it is called a Hub).

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Generally it's not got a great reputation. There's probably areas that are fine, but it's not somewhere you ever have to go unless you live there so I don't really know where they are.

You'd want to send your children to Welsh school. The Welsh school there is very good (but then they all are).