Council leader snubs Albion dream

Instead he says the future of Waterhall Valley, not earmarked in the Local Plan for any development, should be reconsidered.

Albion originally wanted to build the stadium at a site owned by the University of Brighton at Village Way North in Falmer.

Following opposition from the university, the club switched its attention to Village Way South, which is about 200 metres away.

Opinion is divided over the Falmer site. In consultation on the Local Plan, the council found 4,500 people were in favour and an equal number were against.

Coun Bodfish said: "Falmer does not have room for any supporting development. There is no room for car parks, park-and-ride or anything else.

"I don't think the university would want Village Way South to be developed and would object. There would also be opposition from Falmer Parish Council and Lewes District Council."

Albion originally wanted Waterhall, which is owned by the council, but the site was ruled out because it was north of the Brighton bypass.

But Coun Bodfish said: "It should be looked at again because it would meet several needs.

"There would be room for supporting development. There could also be a station there."

He said the boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park could be drawn so it started at the scarp of the hills and did not include the valley.

Coun Bodfish said he was merely floating the idea to see what reaction it received.

He said: "I am sure it will get some flak as I know some people are opposed to it. But I think it should be looked at again."

Environmentalists suggested part of Shoreham Harbour could be considered for Albion's home as a brownfield site.

But Coun Bodfish said a tunnel, needed to provide access, would be too expensive and the site would take too long to develop.

Lord Bassam of Brighton, former council leader, last week urged supporters to stand firm behind the proposal for a stadium at Falmer.

He, together with Coun Bodfish both have ambitions to become the city's first directly-elected mayor.

Lord Bassam said: "Now is the time for calm reflection about the Falmer option."

He said Falmer had the backing of the city through a referendum and the club had made firm efforts to get a community stadium there. He added he always thought it would have the least environmental impact.

He said: "I am impressed by the club's efforts to bring as many people as possible to Withdean by public transport and their imaginative proposals for the Falmer site.

"I think the club should stick with the current plan and present an application complete with a business and transport report.

"A stadium at Waterhall will inevitably lead to the wholesale development of the valley for a whole range of business proposals.

"The site is north of the bypass and any development there would be seen by environmentalists as an incursion into downland in a way which is not the same at Falmer.

"The best approach to solving the long-term need for a stadium is partnership between the council, the club, the community, the universities and business interests."

Tory opposition leader Brian Oxley said: "This is typical of the way in which the council operates, going in one direction and then the other.

"There was a costly referendum two years ago in which a great deal of effort was made to endorse the Falmer site.

"Waterhall is north of the bypass and there is a cast iron rule of no development there. It already has community sports pitches.

"There is also an issue about the water table as this is where there was all the trouble last winter."

Green convenor Keith Taylor said: "We have been saying for months Falmer does not look as if it will happen.

"We are very concerned at any development north of the bypass as once you lose one site, you will have buildings on other parts of the Downs.

"Waterhall is a site that was taken out of the Local Plan for park-and- ride after pressure.

"It is time for the council to have a radical rethink of the site and the type of stadium which can be developed.

"We want to see a stadium but one which can be built and on the right site."

Liberal Democrat group leader Paul Elgood said: "I have never thought there was an easy or magical solution to providing a permanent home for the Albion.

"The Labour group has sold us Falmer and ruled out all the other sites including Waterhall.

"We now need to have a debate on all possible sites but Waterhall should not be considered because it is north of the bypass."

Albion chairman Dick Knight said many sites around the city had been examined but Falmer was the only viable location for the stadium.

He was unaware of Coun Bodfish's comments.

He said: "My response would be that the council has a clear mandate from its own referendum that was held in May 1999 when almost 40,000 residents voted in favour of the community stadium at Falmer.

"We, the football club, have worked long and hard with the council to deliver this modern arena that the city needs.

"Tremendous progress has been made and there is no reason to backtrack now."

Liz Costa, of the Albion supporters' club, said the referendum result should be respected She said: "He has a mandate as the leader of the council to carry out the wishes of the people who voted two years ago.

"He, as leader of the council, should be there to uphold the questions that the council at the time put to the electorate.

"There is a mandate on the council to back the club and move the club to Falmer and I don't think that has changed since day one, to be honest."

Eric Huxham, chairman of Falmer Parish Council, which has mounted a long-running campaign against the stadium, is due to meet Coun Bodfish to discuss the proposal later today.

He said: "I think if he has come out on that side that it is almost a foregone conclusion that it will be dead and buried.

"I think the Albion have got to go back and reconsider all the alternative sites."

The club said it still intended to apply for planning permission to build at Village Way South "very soon" after the council's Local Plan debate on July 26.