The headline "Give up these tired Falmer arguments" given to the letter from Robert Martin of Guildford (Letters, June 26) could not have been more appropriate.

Mr Martin's claim that the land proposed for the football stadium at Falmer is not downland is one we have repeatedly heard in The Argus letters pages.

It's almost as if saying it ad nauseam will make it become true.

Of course the site at Falmer is downland. Most of Brighton and Hove is built on downland.

Village Way North may not be pristine chalk downland but it is still a greenfield site on the South Downs.

Its character has obviously been altered by the various nearby developments as the closeness of the urban fringe always affects the feel of the landscape beyond.

However, is that a reason for building on it? Have not green belts been highly valued around many sprawling towns and cities?

The site at Falmer is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which the Government has given the highest status of protection because of its natural beauty.

It demonstrates that we do not have just any old countryside on our doorstep but one of the greatest English lowland landscapes soon to be designated a national park.

Building a huge stadium at Falmer would intrude into the largely rural landscape beyond.

The site is highly visible from Ditchling Beacon and the surrounding downland. Standing in the field at Village Way North is no way to properly assess the impact such a large development would have on this landscape.

It is obvious this development has raised the passions on both sides.

Surely, in the interests of democracy and openness, the sensible thing is for there to be a public inquiry.

-Chris Todd, Campaign Officer, South Downs Campaign, Brighton