Brighton and Hove Albion were finding out today whether their surprise bid to delay the inquiry into plans for a stadium at Falmer has been successful.

The club was formally applying for a three-month adjournment this morning, claiming they need more time to resolve differences with the University of Brighton.

The two have been locked in talks for months, with the club unable to satisfy the university's concerns about the £48 million project.

The university, which owns about a third of the Village Way North site, wants tough legal safeguards to make sure its day-to-day operations will not be affected by the 22,000-seat football ground.

University bosses believe Brighton and Hove City Council has been too closely involved in the scheme to be relied on to enforce less strict planning conditions.

Planning inspector John Collyer said he had "deep concern" about the unexpected bid for another delay, revealed as the public inquiry resumed yesterday after a two-month break.

The club wrote to Mr Collyer requesting the adjournment on Monday.

Many of the problems surround a new roundabout the university wants at the junction of Village Way and The Drove. This had not been mentioned earlier during the hearing and will require a revised planning application to Lewes District Council.

During yesterday's session the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) said the stadium should not be built in the Sussex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Richard Allden, of the CPRE's Brighton and Hove branch, said the scheme was not in the national interest and there were alternative sites, the twin test that would allow development in an AONB.

He said the economic benefits would not be as big as the club claimed and the proposed ground was poorly sited for public transport.

The CPRE said the 1999 council-sponsored referendum did not prove building at Falmer was backed by a majority of people.

The stadium was given planning permission by Brighton and Hove City Council a year ago. The inquiry, which opened in February, was expected to last two more weeks.

Mr Collyer, who has to decide whether to agree the adjournment, had been expected to send his report to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott later in the summer.

Wednesday June 4, 2003