A council leader has said he hopes the sale of hundreds of acres of land on the edge of Norwich will kickstart a major 3,500 home development - and not be another "false dawn".

Members of Norfolk County Council's Conservative-controlled cabinet have agreed to sell some 90 acres of land near the Sprowston Park and Ride site to a mystery bidder.

The council was the final player in a group of landowners which is ready to sell 400 acres of land in Sprowston and Old Catton to a single buyer.

Organisations including Beeston Estate, Morley Agricultural Foundation and the Alderman Norman Foundation are among the other landowners.

The sale could mean work on a 3,500 home development, most of it between North Walsham Road and Wroxham Road, finally begins almost a decade after it was granted outline planning permission.

Broadland District Council gave company Beyond Green permission in 2013 - but work on the homes has yet to begin.

Two years ago development promoters - London-based TOWN and U&I - came forward with a proposal to sell the site to a single buyer but that fell through.

However, a new buyer made an offer which was accepted by the main landowners - and the county council agreed to sell its share too.

Details of the proposed sale, including the identity of the buyer and how much the council would make, are not being revealed, with the council citing commercial sensitivity.

Greg Peck, the council's cabinet member for commercial services and asset management, said that information would be published by the Land Registry after the deal goes through.

He added: "Property disposals will provide capital receipts for the council to support the capital programme and hence service delivery.

"The county council will apply the capital receipts to meet its priorities."

Andrew Proctor, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: "It's good to see this being moved on so we can finally get development on that site under way.

"We have had some false dawns before, but hopefully this won't work out that way."

The prospect of thousands more homes has prompted concerns about the impact on infrastructure.