The prospect of badly needed new housing in Tolworth is in the balance as a company that specialises in retail development nears buying the old Toby Jug site from Tesco.

Surrey Comet:

Several sources have confirmed to the Surrey Comet that the sale to European real estate investment firm Meyer Bergman, which used to own half the Bentall Centre, will be finalised “any day”.

Councillors have concerns that Meyer Bergman’s previous record in retail might mean more "unrealistic" shopping centre plans and not the homes the borough needs.

The council waiting list for a home in Kingston is longer than 6,000 people and the borough has been named among the worst-performing places in the country for building new homes.

Alexandra Ward Councillor Richard Hudson said: “It won’t be a huge surprise if they come out with some sort of retail development and that would cause huge problems.

“It is worrying because that roundabout is already extremely congested with traffic.

“It would need to be completely redesigned. We will have to wait and see.

“The reality is there is going to be some houses on that site and there will be some high rises.

“What we do not want is 18 storeys because that is not in keeping with the area.”

Council leader Councillor Kevin Davis said: “We have to remember the original Tesco planning application is still valid. It is early days.”

Meyer Bergman’s website says its primary objective is “value creation through the development of under-utilised retail assets including shopping centres and high street shops in downtown and out-of-town locations, as well as corporate opportunities with a significant retail angle”.

It says the company targets investment opportunities with typical values of between €40m (£29.5m) and €350m (£257.7m).

In 2010 the company bought a 50 per cent stake in Kingston’s Bentall Centre for £130m and sold the share early last year for an estimated £200m.

The Comet broke the news in September that Tesco was selling its land after more than a decade of failed attempts to gain planning permission for massive redevelopment.

Spokesmen for Meyer Bergman and Tesco refused to comment on the sale.