ChristChurch Cathedral in Cathedral Sq. Christchurch 25 July 2013, New Zealand.

A lobby group fighting to save ChristChurch Cathedral from demolition has lost its legal battle.

The Court of Appeal has today upheld a High Court decision which means that the Church Property Trust (CPT) can continue its partial deconstruction of the Cathedral.

Following the extensive damage from the Canterbury quakes, CPT decided to partially demolish the cathedral for safety reasons.

However, the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) has challenged the lawfulness of the CPT's decision in two court cases.

Today, the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the High Court's decision.

"The practical effect of this decision is that the CPT is able to deconstruct the Cathedral for the purpose of building a new cathedral, and the new cathedral need not replicate the original Cathedral," the decision states.

Following the decision, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said he was hopeful that opponents of the demolition will take today's decision on the chin, and move on.

He added that he thinks the city as a whole needs to move forward and the future of the square plays a key role in this.

Now, CPT can proceed with its deconstruction of the cathedral.

"We are very grateful that the Court of Appeal took the time and effort to give us such a clear decision," said Bishop Victoria Matthews.

However, the Bishop told ONE News that locals should not expect to see demolition begin just yet.

The Great Christchurch Building Trust is not conceding defeat just yet.

"No, [it is] not the end, because look the truth is we were only one player here. I know there are other people lined up that've got other means of fighting this decision other than the one we've taken," the GCBT's Jim Anderton said.

"There's also the issue of the historic places trust. This is a category one building," he said.