Locals have been left ‘devastated’ after a more than 400-year-old oak tree thought to be one of London’s biggest was chopped down by a Toby Carvery.
The tree, which is believed to have been felled on April 3, was only discovered by Enfield Council workers last week in Whitewebbs Park surrounded by its severed branches and trunk.
With a huge girth of 6.1 metres, the oak tree is thought to be in the capital’s top 100 in terms of its size.
Enfield council members reported the matter to the Metropolitan Police, and a preservation order remains in place on the base of the stump.
But a spokesperson for Mitchells and Butlers, the company that owns Toby Carvery, has now taken responsibility for the felling of the tree – which they say was a ‘serious health and safety risk’.
The historic tree sits on land leased by the Enfield Toby Carvery.
A statement read: ‘The tree was cut back after we were advised that it caused a serious health and safety risk, and so this was an essential action to protect our employees and guests, to whom we have a duty of care.
‘We took every necessary measure to ensure all legal requirements were met; there was no Tree Preservation Order in place, the tree was not subject to any protections, and it was in fact dead before it was felled. We are grateful to our expert contractors for warning us of this hazard so swiftly, allowing us to act before anyone was harmed.’
The tree, which is believed to have been felled on April 3, was only discovered by Enfield Council workers last week in Whitewebbs Park surrounded by its severed branches and trunk
The chopping of the oak tree has left locals and environmental campaigners ‘devastated’, however
With a huge girth of 6.1 metres, the oak tree is thought to be in the capital’s top 100 in terms of its size
The chopping of the more than 400-year-old tree has left locals and environmental campaigners ‘devastated’, however.
Russell Miller, an ecology expert, called the ordeal ‘the worst example’ of an inappropriate felling he has ever seen.
And prior to Toby Carvery admitting chopping the tree, Adam Cormack, The Woodland Trust’s head of campaigning, said: ‘We don’t know yet who did this or why and would urge anyone with information to come forward and report it to the police.
‘This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place.
‘It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age.
‘Legally protected status for trees like the Whitewebbs Oak is long overdue.
‘This issue has widespread public support and is an open goal for the government to act upon.’
Enfield Council are now reportedly looking into the possibility of regrowing what was one of London’s biggest oak trees.
In one video, a YouTuber visited the site of the felling and said he ‘couldn’t believe’ what had been done to the ‘beautiful’ Whitewebbs park tree.
Enfield Council are now reportedly looking into the possibility of regrowing what was one of London’s biggest oak trees
The oak tree was described as ‘one of Enfield’s most iconic trees’ before it was chopped down
‘It takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years to have these enjoyable, safe and clean spaces,’ he added.
‘This was one of Enfield’s most iconic trees. This is so sad.
‘We need trees like this, these are historical parts of our community.’
Ed Allnut, a resident of the north London borough and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group, said local people want justice for the felling.
‘The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am personally devastated,’ he said.
‘We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly.’
Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said the incident occurred on April 3.
‘Enfield Council cares deeply about protecting trees and green spaces in the borough,’ he continued.
In one video, a YouTuber visited the site of the felling and said he ‘couldn’t believe’ that the ‘beautiful’ Whitewebbs park tree was chopped down
The illegal tree felling is believed to have occurred on April 3, but it was not discovered until last week
‘The council was not informed of this incident until last week. Our teams immediately carried out a full site inspection to assess the damage after receiving reports of the damage done to the tree.
‘We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. We’ve now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back.’
It comes as the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report on Monday, called for a ‘robust and effective system’ of protections as part of a wider action plan to protect England’s most important trees in the wake of the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023.
The trial of the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree is due to take place later this month in Newcastle Crown Court.
The Woodland Trust cited support for its Living Legends petition that was handed to Downing Street with 100,000 signatures in November and the Heritage Trees Private Members Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Young in 2023.
The legislation proposes the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a preservation order that could be used to promote the protection of ancient and important trees.
Oak trees are valuable for UK wildlife with the ability to support more than 2,300 species as sequestering planet-heating carbon from the atmosphere.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
