A conservation group which lost a High Court case over Becky Addy Wood is now seeking legal advice on whether to appeal.

Members of the Friends of Becky Addy Wood face the possibility of being liable for £463,000 of Bradford on Avon Town Council’s legal costs as well as their own bill to bring the court action.

The group wanted to prevent the council from going ahead with plans to fell 152 trees, which the group claimed was ‘totally unnecessary’.

Last week, the town council vowed to recover as much money as possible for taxpayers, saying it had been forced to defend the court action following a breakdown in mediation talks.

FROBAW members put up £30,000 of the £45,000 purchase price when the council bought the wood on behalf of the local community in May 2020.

Now the group has written to the town’s mayor, Cllr Jack Vittles asking for talks about putting into place a ‘robust’ management plan for the wood.

It is also proposing the town council should set up a Community Interest Company to manage the wood, with members from both the council and FROBAW.

Lisa Otter-Barry, chair of the 150-strong group, said: “We have now had time to read the judgement carefully and we are awaiting advice on whether to seek leave to appeal at the next hearing.

“However, in the meantime, it seems to us that there is a clear invitation from the Judge for both sides to meet to discuss how we can put in place the “robust” arrangement to oversee the future management of the wood as was clearly envisaged by both parties when the original Memorandum of Understanding was signed.

“It seems to us that a good starting point for any discussions would be where we left off after the conciliation meeting on April 17, 2024. At that meeting we found that we made far more progress without the presence of our legal advisers.

“Our suggestion is that we should try to consolidate the progress made at that meeting so that we can tell the judge at the next hearing that we have met and hopefully found a way forward to manage Becky Addy Wood with the involvement of the local community who contributed the majority of the purchase price.”

Cllr Vittles responded: “The town council are willing to meet with FROBAW. If you can please suggest some dates and times which would work we can arrange a mutually agreeable time.”