Swaythling passenger cars in the UK, leaving the Southampton made Transit as their only British-made vehicle. In 2009, with the new Kocaeli, Turkey, plant in full production, Ford reluctantly halved production at Southampton and reduced the workforce to just over 500. Employing 500 workers, the factory produced up to 35,000 Transit chassis/cab variant vehicles annually, of which 50% were exported. The Ford Southampton plant closed on 26 July 2013. The very first branch of the DIY chain B&Q was opened in Swaythling in 1969. The shop was owned by Messrs Block and Quayle. Swaythling railway station is on the main line
Prospect Theatre Company Prospect Theatre Company The Prospect Theatre Company was an English company founded, as Prospect Productions, in 1961. Based at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge from 1964 until 1969, the company, with Toby Robertson as artistic director and Richard Cottrell as associate director, toured both nationally and internationally with a mainly classical repertoire, providing notable appearances of such actors as Ian McKellen and Timothy West. The company became closely associated with the Edinburgh Festival after its first appearance there in 1967. Separating from the Arts Theatre in 1969, the company, renamed The Prospect Theatre Company, survived without a permanent base for the