On listening to a recent Albion post-match phone-in on local radio, I was amazed to hear a caller say Brighton and Hove City Council should "pull its finger out" in relation to the stadium at Falmer.

Our council, like many others, has its fair share of problems but support for the Albion is not one of them.

It facilitated the move back to Brighton via Withdean and has been solidly behind the planning application for Falmer. This is borne out by a recent survey of local election candidates in which all Labour candidates, bar one, were in favour of Falmer.

This is in strong contrast to the Green Party, which is in almost total opposition. Add to this our three local MPs and Hove's Ivor Caplin in particular and you have total backing for Falmer from our local Labour administration.

What the council doesn't have though, and rightly so, is a magic wand to wave away the requirements for a planning inquiry.

This is a democratic safeguard to ensure all sides of the arguments are heard.

The council is also not able to influence the speed at which the inquiry moves, for it is just one applicant among many.

What people can do if they want to help, however, is write to the relevant minister, John Prescott, expressing their support for Falmer.

-Peter Atkinson, Portslade