For much of 2006 Battle Town Council worked with representatives of various Community and Special Interest groups based in Battle to produce a Local Action Plan for Battle. A Steering Group was established to carry the work forward. The Steering Group is sponsored and supported by Battle Town Council, but independently Chaired by Clive Mills. The inaugural meeting of the Steering Group took place on 9 November 2006. The Group continues to meet on a regular basis to review progress and support projects as necessary. Early in 2011 it resolved to carry out a review of the initial plan document. To assist with this exercise a questionnaire was circulated to all residents. The results have now been analysed and a report will be added to the web-site shortly.

The aims of the Battle Local Action Plan (BLAP) Steering Group (SG) are:

1. To represent all sectors (individuals and groups) of the community of Battle in the formulation of a Battle Local Action Plan;
2. To arrange further consultation with the community of Battle, by way of liaison, public meetings, networking etc.  The aim of this consultation being to ensure that the views and needs of all groups, in particular the young, older people and those disadvantaged in various ways, are taken into account in drawing up the BLAP;
3. To steer the drafting of the Battle Local Action Plan;
4. To identify how the hopes and aspirations of the Battle community, as reflected in the BLAP, might be achieved;
5. To prioritise projects arising from the BLAP;
6. To determine "Lead organisations/groupings" to take on projects identified;
7. To assist in the determination of sources of funding (where funding is needed) to achieve projects;
8. To monitor progress in achieving the objectives highlighted in the BLAP.

Background

A questionnaire was sent to every electoral register address in Battle in early May 2006.  Returns were received from 579 addresses.  The questionnaire was based upon a combination of matters still outstanding from the Battle Partnership Healthcheck and the Netherfield Plan; matters raised in the course of the full public consultation on the Battle Local Area Transport (BLAT) plan and other matters suggested in informal consultations.   The responses to the 80 odd questions were professionally analysed.  As a starting point for their work the Steering Group studied this analysis together with an extracted list of the written-in comments recorded on the completed questionnaires (close to 1,100 such comments).

The results were prioritised and the necessary follow-up action identified.

The Plan was produced and a copy sent to every household.  It is a living document which will be reviewed regularly by the Steering Group.

The Plan summarises the actions proposed to achieve the aspirations of the town's residents.

In addition to the Town Council's work, the Steering Group is following up a variety of other initiatives.