It is with great disappointment that we have decided not to proceed with buying the 19 acres at Seend, near Melksham. This is because of the ‘jackpot’ of magnetic anomalies on site that may indicate Roman or Medieval buried heritage. Without digging trenches all over the site – which we can’t do till we own the land – we won’t know to what extent our planting will be restricted. In the end, this is too great a risk for the charity.

The good news is that we are actively looking for substitute land and we are discussing one possible site that appears to tick all our boxes – a site where we can plant trees without restrictions, greatly improve existing habitat for birds and other species, and add to natural flood management. We will keep you informed, but please do send us information regarding land for sale in your area. ANT seeks to ‘add value’ by owning the land, so existing woodland is only of interest if it is under threat.

Many thanks for your help – and to the many funders who are allowing us to use money donated to Seend for our next purchase, wherever it is. If you have donated specifically to the Seend land (possibly through our Crowdfunder campaign or through a gift card) and would like your money returned, please do get in contact with our Chair, Nikki, at nikki.jones@avonneedstrees.org.uk