Albion bosses are hoping their new stadium will be the greenest football ground in the land.

Plans for Brighton and Hove Albion's proposed stadium, which they hope to build on a site in Falmer, will undergo an assessment to discover the building's environmental sustainability.

It will be carried out by an assessor from BREeam, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

BREeam is a method of measuring the environmental quality of a building.

The plans will be given one of a variety of gradings which range from excellent to pass.

Martin Perry, the chief executive of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club, said: "We'd like it to be the countries greenest stadium but we have to take into account the economics because to achieve the maximum level of sustainability can be very expensive and we have to balance capital cost against the benefits.

"It will achieve extremely high standards compared with other stadiums."

Mr Perry said they will ensure they receive a "very good" rating.

He said they had found the Falmer site to be more environmentally friendly than Sheepcote, where some campaigners argue the new stadium should be built.

And he said the sheltered location will mean lower energy use to heat the building and the proximity to Falmer railway station will result in fewer cars being used for visits by fans to matches.

Current plans feature rain water collection to irrigate the pitch and the use of bio-fuels to run the emergency generator.

It is the first stadium in the country to undergo a BREeam assessment. They are more commonly carried out on homes and public buildings including schools.

Mr Perry said it was unclear how long it might take.

The bespoke assessment has been requested and funded by the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) and will cost £161,000.

It is part of £5 million funding from the agency.

Almost £4 million will pay for improvements to the A270 including a flyover and major junction improvement.

The flyover, at the junction of the A270 and the A27, will separate Brighton-bound traffic using Falmer School and Stanmer Park access roads.

Other funds from Seeda include almost £950,000 for access road widening and a University of Sussex link road along with £288,000 for pedestrian and cycle access from Falmer School to the stadium.

It will also pay out £169,000 for improved access to Woollard's Field and Falmer School site.

The Government is expected to announce whether planning permission will be given to the Albion to build at Falmer next Wednesday.