LETTER: Industry will die if issue continues

1. Visitor parking. Battle is a tourist attraction. Not only the Abbey, but other attractions and unique retail outlets that you won’t find anywhere else. We need to encourage visitors to stay and spend the day here, enjoy the sites and attractions and eat, drink and generally have such a good time that they’ll want to come back again.

2. All delivery vehicles over 20 cwt to deliver before 8:30am and after 6pm.

3. Smaller delivery vehicles allowed 15 minutes unloading or loading time. Without pointing fingers, there are some vehicles (no doubt essential for the business) that park close to junctions which then block amazingly fast. Yet the owners seems oblivious to the carnage it is causing.

4. Staff parking. All businesses rely on workers from further afield than easy walking distance. Is it not practical to designate say the ‘free’ car park at the bottom of Mount Street car park as a ‘staff’ car park, with a Battle Town Council approved pass verified by their employer? They should also encourage parking on the periphery with staff car sharing where possible.

5. Make the Long Stay car parking signage much clearer. We also need a Day Ticket for parking that offers either a free parking rebate for every £100 spent in Battle (excluding the Abbey). After all, a family of four can easily spend much more than that on a less enjoyable say at an ‘amusement’ park.

6. If/when a new car park is available, why not a shuttle bus/taxi to/from the Abbey Green?

7. Either ban all parking in the High Street, or allow say 30 minutes with no return for three hours. That might be possible with ticket machines.

Finally, can something please be done about that ridiculous short parking strip just past Saxonwood Road, which simply creates yet another hold up in any attempt to get in or out of Battle.

It may have some reason, but residents should be discouraged from on street parking, and assisted with off street parking.

Provide more parking and control the High Street and ‘bay blockers’. We need to keep traffic flowing so that visitors can enjoy their day in Battle to their and everyone else’s benefit. It needn’t be just a day, either. If the town became easier to visit, then the numerous holiday places would be able to advertise how pleasant a week or so here would be.

I live only a few miles away, yet it can take far longer from Asten Fields to Mount Street (or vice versa) than the rest of the journey.

You can no longer close your eyes and hope it’ll go away. The only way that will happen is that no one will come to Battle unless it’s unavoidable.

Unless businesses wake up and establish sensible use of the available parking, they and the tourist industry the town depends on will die.

Kevin Regan

Standard Hill Close

Ninfield

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