THE council's preferred option for the development of the Barnett Wood Lane Allotments in Leatherhead will be revealed at a meeting later this month.
Mole Valley District Council has narrowed down the list of potential developers to three, which will be reviewed by officers before being discussed for the first time by councillors on July 23.
A final decision on whether or not to approve the preferred bid will then be made at a meeting of the council's executive seven days later at Pippbrook.
The council claims to jointly own the 103 plots with Merton College, Oxford, and any deal would see the developer have to move them to another site, likely one on the other side of the Leatherhead Bypass.
Councillor Charles Yarwood, portfolio holder for property, said: "Merton College and officers from Mole Valley District Council now have the considerable responsibility of conducting a rigorous assessment process to find the best bid to put forward for members to consider.
"At that stage members will need to be confident that the developer's vision is one which will successfully enhance not only the area and towns immediately surrounding the sites, but the entire district before they will consider approving the proposal."
A shortlist of five developers submitted their plans for the site in April, before being whittled down to three bids, which were invited to state their case to council officers in June.
During the final stage, the council negotiated with the final three parties and discussed with them "how, if successful, they would address the challenges the sites would bring".
The current allotment site measures 9.5 acres, and could potentially be combined with two neighbouring plots to create a 32.2 acre site to be used for housing or retail.
The proposed new allotment site, which is currently empty, is green belt land and much larger than the current plot, which stands at 22.3 acres.
None of the sites are currently designated for development in the Local Plan and if a developer is chosen to take the sites forward, they will need to address "various planning and highways considerations" and relocate the Barnett Wood Lane allotments.
David Bishop, of Kingscroft Road, has had an allotment at the site for nearly 40 years, and said he was opposed to any potential bid.
The 68-year-old said: "I really do not care what it is. It could be social housing or a retail park; nothing will be as valuable to the community as the allotments."
