RESIDENTS face a race against time to save popular woodland after a deal to buy it for the community collapsed.
Cholmondeley Estates last month accepted what it thought was a £32,000 community bid for Harmers Wood in Helsby from five Hill Road North households.
But the deal fell through after the householders distanced themselves from the broader Friends of Harmers Wood campaign group, insisting they wanted to maintain private control of the site.
The bid for the 8.8-acre wood was lodged amid fears public access would be lost, with paintballing and pistol-shooting companies rumoured to be involved in a bidding war reaching nearly £60,000.
Cholmondeley says it accepted the lower offer as it wanted the wood retained for the community.
It has now given the Friends of Harmers Wood more time to raise £32,000 in a fundraising campaign after being alerted to the intentions of the Hill Road North group.
Campaigner Audrey Davies said: 'We're very disappointed and now need to raise the money ourselves.
'We had a meeting with people from two of the Hill Road North households and they said they would have total control which was not what we had anticipated.
'They even used Friends of Harmers Wood note paper to put in the bid.
'The only good thing is that Cholmondeley did not carry on with the sale, but we now have to move quickly putting in for grants.'
The group is applying to organisations and is also seeking charitable status and will set up a constitution.
