…..they expect planning permission in return for a business park on the rest of the site. Otherwise the land carries a £4m price tag for the Albion. Toad’s Hole Valley is one of several sites that the ODPM has insisted should be revisited as potential sites for the stadium. The owners are of the opinion that it could be over £8m cheaper to build in the valley rather than the preferred site at Falmer.

But Brighton & Hove Albion are firm in their views that Toad’s Hole Valley is not suitable because, being sandwiched between two fast moving transport routes, it has access problems which make it unsuitable for a football stadium. The A27/A2083 roundabout to the north of the site operates at, or close to, capacity and the Club questins whether it could accommodate match day traffic. Also the close proximity of Falmer to East Brighton and the Universities of Sussex and Brighton make it eligible for grant assistance that Toad’s Hole does not.

It is also technically in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) although the designation was applied in the 1960s before the bypass was constructed and it almost certainly would not qualify today. When National Park comes into being in 2007 the AONB designation will no longer apply and Toad’s Hole Valley could be freed up to become a much needed development site on the outskirts of the city.