Plans for an estate of low cost eco-homes on former allotment land are set to be approved next week.
Westleigh Developments wants to build 68 properties on a 13 acre plot of land next to Heathcott Road near Leicester's Saffron Lane.
Officers at Leicester City Council have recommended the project be approved by councillors on the authority's planning committee when they meet on Thursday.
The site is owned by the council and is worth around £1.5 million but the authority has agreed to sell the land for £1 as it says it will allow much needed homes to be build on disused and overgrown land.
If planning permission is granted a deal will see the land, between Whittier Road and Heathcott Road, transferred to Saffron Lane Neighbourhood Council (SLNC), a charity set up for the benefit of people on the estate.
It is anticipated the development will cost £7 million.THe properties would be managed by East Midlands Housing.
A report by planning officers says there have been no objections to the scheme.
The homes are to be built to what is described as Passivhaus meaning they will have high levels of insulation and carefully controlled ventilation standards.
The council says it will be the largest affordable Passivhaus scheme in the country.
A Westleigh spokesman said: "This will result in high quality dwellings to provide a good living environment for families.
"It will bring much needed affordable living to the area."
Critics have said the council ought not to be selling such a valuable plot of land for a nominal sum and should seek the market value
However assistant mayor for housing Andy Connelly previously told the Mercury the development would be "an important development for the city".
He said: "It will help provide much-needed affordable housing, built to the extremely high standards of energy efficiency.
"It is important we support Saffron Lane Neighbourhood Council in making this scheme a reality.
"Our contribution to this scheme is the underused land itself and that will help attract about £7 million of investment in the city and the completed scheme will stand as a beacon for sustainable and affordable housing."
The Homes and Communities Agency is contributing £1.5 million to the project.
SLNC will also extend its Saffron Acres Project, a community allotment and food production scheme, that will run alongside the eco-home development.
