The final decision on whether a strip of land along the Bristol to Bath cycle path will be sold to a developer is to be taken behind closed doors.

Squarepeg approached Bristol City Council last year in a bid to buy land along the Bristol to Bath cycle path to include it as part of a £40-million plan to redevelop the former chocolate factory at Greenbank.

The 252-home development was approved last week, but a decision on the land sale has yet to be made.

The developer has stated the land is essential to allow the construction of up to 22 so-called cycle houses, which would be unique to the UK and would have direct access to the cycle path.

The council has previously stated the sale would be agreed, subject to planning permission.

But a series of emails released under the Freedom of Information Act suggest a deal was agreed nine months ago, according to opponents of the sale.

Last month, the results of a £12,000 consultation exercise carried out by the council showed the majority of residents who sent in questionnaires on the issue opposed the sale.

Now the authority has announced the final decision will be made by an official and not by councillors, committee or in view of the public.

This has led campaigners to brand the public consultation an "expensive farce".

Keep Greenbank Green group member Chris Hutt, 58, of Richmond Park Road, Clifton, said: "My understanding is that the question of whether to sell the land to Squarepeg should be determined without regard to the fact that planning permission has now been granted.

"But of course it would be naive to expect that to happen, given the likely consequences of a decision not to sell.

"I suppose Squarepeg would then have grounds for legal action against the council since they were lead to believe that the sale would proceed once they had planning permission.

"So the council are bound to be mindful of that in deciding whether to sell the land, which makes it a foregone conclusion that they will.

"So the public consultation will have been a farce, and an expensive one too."

Liberal Democrats have also raised concerns about the way the issue has been handled.

Councillor Gary Hopkins (Knowle), executive member for environment and community safety, said: "The way that was handled needs questioning, the policy on parks and green spaces was either followed or it wasn't.

"We are looking very closely what assurances might have been given.

"If promises were made, they would have been acted upon."

The emails released show communications between council officials on the matter before it was raised as an issue by the public.

They include a number of private communications between planning officials and the developer from last year.

One email, from planning official Chanelle Brodie to portfolio management official Peter Webb in June read: "Since your last email to me, I have been informed by Matthew Cockburn (transport DC manager) that David Bishop (head of planning) has agreed with Squarepeg to sell some of BCC land adjacent to the cycle track... could you email or send over plan clearly showing the land that David Bishop has agreed to sell to Squarepeg?"

The emails show that initially officials had refused to sell the land as it was not deemed surplus to requirements.

Another email, from Peter Webb to central support services official Rod Taplin, read: "Initially CLS (culture and leisure services) were not interested in declaring the site surplus as they wanted to retain the site as they saw it as a valuable wildlife site. The developer Squarepeg was unhappy with their outcome of their initial inquiry.

"George Ferguson (Squarepeg) contacted David Bishop directly to see if there was a way forward, David Bishop confirmed that the council would be able to proceed with the sale of the site."

The council has denied there was anything other than a provisional agreement between the two parties.

A spokesman said: "There is no formal agreement regarding the sale of this land with any developer and there has never been one. The email is one of many released in response to the Freedom of Information Act inquiry.

"Officers will have expressed views during those discussions about whether they personally supported the proposed scheme or not in principle.

"This is normal when such a proposal is being considered – but none of those views would constitute any kind of formal decision or agreement.

"Now that planning permission has been granted, a formal decision does need to be taken about whether or not to sell the two plots of land involved and start negotiations with a developer.

"That decision will be taken, probably by the end of April, by the acting director of resources, Carew Reynell, following discussions with cabinet members and taking into account a range of matters, including legal and financial advice and the outcomes of the public consultation. Until we reach that stage, we will not comment further."

Mike Coyne, of Squarepeg, said: "We see our proposal as protecting and enhancing the land and the innovative cycle housing adding to Bristol's cycle demonstration city status.

"We are equally happy to agree a long leasehold on the land if that is the council's preferred alternative. We have never tried to hide the fact that the land is integral to the success of the cycle housing and the development".