Enfield Council is pursuing legal action against Toby Carvery after the roast dinner chain felled a 500-year-old oak tree.
Leader of Enfield Council Ergin Erbil this afternoon said that the committee was ‘seeking advice and will take appropriate legal action.’
And if criminal breaches are found, the matter will be re-reported to the Met Police, he added.
It comes after the ancient oak tree, located in Whitewebbs Park, north London, was felled earlier this month, sparking fury among locals and prompting the council to report the matter to police.
The tree is situated next to a car park on land leased to Mitchells & Butler, the pub chain owner of the nearby Toby Carvery.
Spokesperson for Mitchells & Butler said yesterday the huge tree, which has a girth of 6.1 metres, was cut back after advice it posed a ‘serious health and safety risk’.
But Erbil condemned the act saying: ‘I am outraged that the leaseholder has cut down this beautiful ancient oak tree without seeking any permissions or advice from Enfield Council.’
He also said that police were treating the felling of the tree as a civil matter, and that that the council will continue to take appropriate legal action.
Enfield Council is pursuing legal action against Toby Carvery after the roast dinner chain felled a 500-year-old oak tree
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
‘As the land owner we believe this action has broken the terms of the lease which requires Toby Carvery to maintain and protect the existing landscape’, Erbil said.
The council leader also claimed that tree experts had checked the tree in December 2024 and found it was healthy and posed no risk to the neighbouring car park and its users.
‘This tree would have been home to countless wildlife, fungi, and pollinators. This tree is a part of our ecological and cultural heritage.
‘We’re therefore seeking advice and will take appropriate legal action. If any criminal activity is found during our investigation, we will not hesitate to report this to the police again.
‘As the tree shows clear signs of life we will also do everything we can to help the tree regrow.’
It comes as the Woodland Trust said it was exploring whether other laws had been breached.
Experts there said businesses have a legal requirement to check with the Forestry Commission before felling more than five cubic metres of timber thanks to the Forestry Act 1967, adding they ‘have not yet seen any evidence that this took place.’
A spokesperson added: ‘We are shocked and devastated by the felling of the ancient Whitewebbs Oak tree by contractors working for Mitchells and Butlers, the pub and restaurant chain that own Toby Carvery.
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
The illegal tree felling is believed to have occurred on April 3, but it was not discovered until last week
‘The Whitewebbs Oak was a tree of significant ecological, cultural and historic value, more than 450 years old and home to a huge range of scarce and important wildlife habitats.
‘We want to see justice for the felling of this ancient and nationally significant oak tree.
‘That includes an investigation into whether felling licence laws were breached and whether standard practices were followed.
The Met has said that no evidence of criminality has been found because the tree was not subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) when it was felled.
However, that doesn’t mean that civil action could not be taken against those responsible.
The police could also look again at what happened if further evidence comes to light.
Locals have been left heartbroken by the felling of the historic tree.
Local tree surgeon Henry Jordan, 21, who travelled to the park after hearing about the felling, called it a ‘disgrace’.
He said: ‘They have absolutely annihilated the oak. When I was younger, I came here with my friends and we used to run about in the woods and this tree was one of the larger ones.
‘It is a disgrace to see it like this. You can tell it was not dying because there is still foliage growing on it.’
Ed Allnut, a local resident and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group, said: ‘The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage.
‘I am personally devastated. We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly.’
He added: ‘This was a special tree, there are probably only 100, of its age left in London.’
The tree is thought to have been planted in the 1600s, before the English Civil War.
