Annex A ~ More about Battle

Battle:

·          is a “commuter” town as it is 1 hour 20 minutes away by train from London, and approximately 45 minutes south of the junction of the M25 with the A21;

·          is within  reasonable distance of Gatwick Airport and the Channel Tunnel;

·          is also a popular tourist town, which attracts around a quarter of a million visitors each year;

·          owes its existence to St. Martin’s Abbey, which was built following the famous “Battle of Hastings” in 1066;

·          comes under Rother District Council, which has one of the highest proportions of retired people for any local government district in the European Union;

·          has a housing stock that is predominantly owner occupied and there is a significant price difference between more expensive Battle, and Hastings;

·          is surrounded by farmland which is increasingly used for aspects of the leisure industry;

·          has very little local industry, though the Conquest Hospital and the Department for Work and Pensions, which are the largest employers in the area lie within 5 miles of Battle;

·          has a Primary schools, Battle and Langton, a Church of England controlled school with more than 600 children and a three form entry; and

·         has one Secondary School, Claverham Community College, which in recent years has consistently been among the very best of state schools for GCSE results in East Sussex.

·         has one private school, Battle Abbey School, which caters for both local children and boarders, within the very special setting of Battle Abbey itself.