A national conservation group has thrown its weight behind the High Court challenge to the Falmer stadium planning permission.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has publicly welcomed the decision by Lewes District Council and Falmer Parish Council to seek a judicial review against John Prescott's permission for the £50 million Brighton and Hove Albion arena.
In an open letter to Mr Prescott, the CPRE expresses its disappointment at the decision to allow the development in the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
It is concerned the stadium could set a planning precedent of building on protected landscapes.
CPRE head of planning Henry Oliver said: "The Government's decision to allow a new football stadium and coach park on a sensitive greenfield site at Falmer in the South Downs casts a shadow over the future of our finest landscapes nationwide.
"When he announced the Government's plans to designate the South Downs a national park in 1999, John Prescott described it as a 'present from Labour to the nation'.
"That makes this decision, made for what we think are the wrong reasons and which will do lasting damage to one of our finest landscapes, even worse."
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