Brighton finally get green light for new stadium

They have been without a permanent home since the sale of the Goldstone Ground in 1997, and spent two years groundsharing 70 miles away at Gillingham before returning to the city with a move to the Withdean Stadium in 2001.

They earmarked the Falmer site in 1999 and, after a drawn out procedure, thought they had been given the all-clear to start work on the stadium when they were granted approval by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in October 2005.

However, a minor error in the approval led to an appeal from Lewes District Council and the original decision was overturned after a judicial review.

But they have been given the approval this morning, meaning that they can finally start planning for life away from their 8,850-seater Withdean home.

The news arrived by mail from Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears and Seagulls chief executive Martin Perry was thrilled with the contents of the letter.

He told the club's official website, www.seagulls.co.uk: "This is fantastic news for the club. It's something many of us have worked tirelessly towards for the last eight years - but it isn't green for go just yet.

"We've already had one false dawn; as our supporters already know all to well we have been here before.

"At the moment what we do not know is if our opponents are planning a further legal challenge, which could cause more delays.

"We will have to wait until early September to see whether the decision is challenged by our opponents. Let's hope that doesn't happen, as it will mean further delays.

"I hope Lewes District Council and Falmer Parish Council will now work with the club to ensure that the stadium is built and operates in a way which minimises disruption and maximises both the social and economic benefits for Lewes as well as the rest of Sussex."

Chairman Dick Knight was also thrilled at the decision, but he too fired a warning over the possibility of an appeal.

He told Sky Sports News: "It's nearly nine years since we first started the trek to get our new stadium, so I'm very pleased obviously - but our opponents still have under the Government process six weeks to appeal which they did last time.

"So our celebrations are obviously intense and we're very pleased but we're not quite breaking out the champagne yet as there is a potential appeal possible. We're going to be really home and dry by September.

"I think this time enough is enough. The opponents have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds, Lewes District Council going against the wishes of the vast majority of people in this part of the world. Today was a big day for Brighton & Hove because today was the day that Brighton & Hove finally became a city.

"We were approved to be a city at the beginning of the Millennium but who ever heard of a city without a modern arena and up to now we had no modern arena in Brighton so today is the day that Brighton & Hove truly became a city. This is a triumph for sport, but it's also a triumph for democracy and for community because our club means so much more in the community than just purely a football club."

Knight took over at the club on the final game at the Goldstone Ground when the Seagulls were fighting to stay in the Football League, but despite their off-the-field worries, the club has made great strides on the pitch.

They have won promotion three times in their 10 years without a permanent home and spent three seasons in the Coca-Cola Championship, and Knight added: "We've been able to do it on the back of a dilapidated stadium, which one manager came in and said it was like playing a pre-season friendly in Norway.

"Anyone who's been to the Withdean knows that's the circumstances we've been struggling under.

"It's a wonderful tribute to football in general that we've got this stadium because it wasn't only Brighton fans that wrote in support of the stadium, it was fans across the country who were in support of this and wrote their letters in their thousands."