Campaigners are shocked at the appearance of a marketing website selling a three and a half acre site in a town centre.

The site off St John’s Road in Epping, which includes a former primary school, the town hall and a district council depot, is being sold by Lambert Smith Hampton and Savills.

The site is owned by the county, district and town councils, but Epping Forest District Council has been leading consultations on what happens to the land and published a design brief in September.

Chris Whitbread, Conservative leader of the district council, said: “The marketing exercise is based on what we agreed on the design statement.

“The district council only has about a sixth of the site and the town council is still not committed until they see what comes forward. It was a wide brief.”

People living nearby marched down the town’s high street a year ago to protest at plans to include a supermarket on the site and push their wish for a leisure centre there.

Steven Harding, who led the protests, said: “This is part of a pattern of an alarming lack of transparency.

“It gives rise to a lot of questions and it’s a complete failure by the three councils to find a consensus on the site.

“If it’s left to the market, it’s likely to be housing.”

District and town councillor, Liberal Democrat Jon Whitehouse, said: “The district council's development brief for the site is so vague that a wide range of proposals could be put forward.

“The crucial point for me is that the three councils involved must consider the long-term interests of Epping and its residents, not just the amount of money they might receive.

“They must say no to bids which would damage our town and should encourage bids which expand or improve local community facilities.”

The marketing website can be seen at www.stjohnsepping.com.