Consultations have begun over controversial plans to sell a strip of land along the Bristol-to-Bath cycle path to developers.

Developer Squarepeg approached the city council earlier this year to buy land along the cycle path to include it as part of a £40 million plan to redevelop the former Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory at Greenbank into housing.

The council agreed, subject to Squarepeg gaining planning permission for the whole development.

Campaigners who are fighting against the plans claim the scheme would damage wildlife.

The application is due to be heard in the new year, and in the meantime the council has begun official consultation on the land sale.

Residents will be able to have their say about the sale at a community drop in day, on Saturday, January 17, between 10am and 4pm at The Pickle Factory, All Hallows Road, Easton.

Plans can be viewed and the developer and council staff will be available for questions.

Alternatively, feedback can be sent to Freepost Consultation Response.

Cyclist Chris Hutt opposes the sale of the land and the way in which the whole issue has been handled by the council.

He claimed the council was trying to "legitimise" what it was trying to do by hiring a national lobbying and PR company, PPS.

Mr Hutt said: "The consultation leaflet says – Do you believe the area should remain as it is, or receive further investment? Is regeneration important for Easton?

"These are questions about the desirability of the development as a whole which are supposed to be dealt with by the planning application, not with this land sale consultation.

"Even in terms of the development as a whole these are leading questions, implying that if the current planning application doesn't proceed nothing else will happen and the factory will remain derelict.

"That is a partisan supposition and the council has no business putting that forward."

Environmental campaigner Glenn Vowles described the consultation as a "sham", and argued it is completely at odds with the councils policy for Parks and Green Spaces Strategy.

He said: "Having attended several meetings to begin drawing up the Area Green Space Plan for Knowle, Windmill Hill and Filwood I know that this consultation is a very poor substitute for the process outlined in the official policy – why can't they go through that process now?

"Why not bring forward the Area Green Space Plan process for this area, given that many other parts of Bristol are already going through it right now?"

A spokesman for PPS said: "We've been asked by the council to consult on whether the land should be sold.

"We work with local authorities on a regular basis – it's our job to present feedback from the local community.

"People should be reassured that whatever we provide to the council will be a fair record and totally transparent. It will be for councillors to decide on the sale of the land."

A city council spokesman said: "PPS was commissioned solely by Bristol City Council – the company seeking to develop the chocolate factory site was not party to this decision.

"They are experts in community consultation and have worked for several councils in the South and West."