Toby Carvery at risk of eviction over felled oak

A Toby Carvery restaurant in north London is at risk of being evicted from the site after staff felled part of an ancient oak tree.

Council staff found the remaining trunk and chopped branches of the tree, thought to be around half a millennium old, in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, last April.

Locals said the loss of the historic oak left them "devastated", while Enfield Council described it as a "reckless act of criminal damage". It added that it had begun the process of removing the restaurant's operator, Mitchells & Butlers, citing serious breaches of the lease.

A spokesperson for Toby Carvery, said: "There will be no further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings."

The pedunculate oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of Enfield council-owned park in north London and overlooked a Toby Carvery.

Enfield Council said the company had not "meaningfully engaged" with them and had not taken steps to repair the harm caused.

In a statement, Tim Leaver, deputy leader of Enfield Council, said: "The destruction of the ancient Whitewebbs Oak caused huge damage to the tree and cut its expected lifespan.

"It shocked and angered our entire community."

He said the centuries-old tree, sometimes known as the Guy Fawkes Oak, was an "irreplaceable part" of Enfield's natural heritage and was felled without the council's knowledge or consent, in clear breach of the lease governing the site.

Leaver has asked Mitchells & Butlers for a public apology, financial reparations for the damage, and compensation the council for the "significant costs" incurred.

He added that the people of Enfield "deserved accountability".

"This case is about upholding our duty to protect our environment and our shared heritage.

"We will do everything within our power to ensure justice for the Whitewebbs Oak and seek to make it clear that such reckless disregard for our borough will never be tolerated."

At the time when the tree was felled, a spokesperson for M&B apologised, saying the felling was not something the company would have undertaken lightly.

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