Editing Feltham (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Fetham rooftop view.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Skyline of West Feltham and Bedfont Lakes looking north-west.]]
The main economic activity of the Feltham area was market gardening until well into the twentieth century. A popular variety of pea known as the Feltham First is so-named for being first grown in the town. The market gardens were largely replaced with light industry, gravel and aggregate extraction, and new housing from the 1930s onwards.

Feltham has been associated with land and air transport for more than a century. In what is now the Leisure West entertainment complex of various buildings including cinema, bowling alley and restaurants, the Feltham tramcar was once manufactured and ran along the tracks of many municipal operators, though never in Feltham itself. In the same area of the town, aircraft manufacture was an important industry, particularly in the war years. Feltham was in the early and mid 20th century home to Britain's second largest railway [[Feltham marshalling yard|marshalling yard]] which was geared towards freight, and was a target for German air force bombs in [[World War II]].

The motor car manufacturer [[Aston Martin]] had its main factory in Feltham between 1926 (when it bought the former Whitehead Aircraft factory) and 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lagonda1949-1958.co.uk/TonyTocock/Tocock.html |title=Aston Martin and Lagonda Recollections |work=lagonda1949-1958.co.uk |access-date=30 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110174935/http://www.lagonda1949-1958.co.uk/TonyTocock/Tocock.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> The site is now occupied by part of Leisure West.

A former company based in Feltham from 1911 until the closure of its factory in the 1980s was [[Minimax Limited]], manufacturers of [[fire extinguishers]].

The largest local employer is [[Heathrow Airport]]. Associated businesses conglomerate in the business parks of the TW14 (Bedfont and Feltham North) part of the post town particularly in logistics and couriers who store and carry the air freight of much of Britain.<ref>Freight warehouses or forwarding major units in TW14 include Geodis, Expeditors and Associated Freight</ref>

However, accessibility of parts of Central London and a good local road network have also made Feltham a base for a number of high-tech companies, including [[DHL]] and [[Arqiva]]. The latter is notable in having a [[telecommunications port]] (teleport) in Feltham which provides transmission and distribution facilities for TV companies including [[Sky UK|Sky]] and [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]].