Toad's Hole Valley is a scruffy stretch of land used mainly by bikers as they charge up and down the slopes each weekend. Remnants can still be seen of the occupation earlier this year by dozens of travellers.

It is small wonder that Brighton and Hove Council is to carry out a study on whether a business park could be established on the floor of the valley to cope with the demands from high-tech industries. Yet conservationists say this site should be protected and that it is a vital green valley extending into Hove.

The issue has been put into focus by the decision last month of Environment Secretary John Prescott to make the Downs into a national park. At present the hills are in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Boundaries of the AONB have not been reviewed since 1966 and clearly a lot has happened since then. There are some anomalies and these will be sorted out over the next two years as the park slowly evolves.

The biggest change in the Brighton and Hove area since then has been the building of the bypass. At that time, I said it would bring about huge changes in development and it already has. Without the downland dual carriageway, you would never have seen either the Holmbush Centre at Shoreham or the Sainsbury's store in West Hove.

There is no doubt that the bypass created a concrete corset around the towns and that it will be hard to make a case for development to the north of it. Conversely, there is big pressure on several sites to the south.

The largest of these is Toad's Hole which has already been unsuccessfully proposed in the past for a new Brighton and Hove Albion stadium. It is owned by a firm of housebuilders which has spent years putting up homes on the other side of King George VI Avenue.

It might be handy for this company to continue building private housing on the other side. That would not benefit local people. A business park would and is an infinitely preferable option.

This site will be developed sooner or later. The rule about bypasses of suburban areas is that development extends to their edges. You have only to see what happened at Steyning and Shoreham to confirm that.

Other prime sites may also be developed. They include Hangleton Bottom where plans were submitted a few years ago for a Tesco superstore. That too would be useful land for business.

Most intriguing of all is Falmer, earmarked both for a new Brighton and Hove Albion stadium and a business park. The pressure for this site to be developed is likely to be too great for anyone to resist, including John Prescott, who will have to make the final decision after a public inquiry.

Councillors have control over most of these sites through ownership. If they want the land to stay green, it will remain so. But Toad's Hole is different because it is privately owned and a developer would have a good chance of persuading Mr Prescott of the case for job creation, whether backed by Brighton and Hove or not.

Then there's Waterhall Valley. It lies just north of the bypass on land which would normally not be considered for development. But it (or neighbouring Braypool) is the only possible site for a park-and-ride serving Brighton.

The conservationists will fight bitterly but it could yet be the exception to prove the rule.

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