Toby Carvery has settled a legal dispute with Enfield Council over the unauthorised partial felling of a 500-year-old oak tree in Whitewebbs Park, north London, last April. The restaurant chain's parent company, Mitchells & Butler Retail (M&B), agreed to pay for the restoration of a lost orchard and the council's legal costs, as well as treatment for the remains of the damaged tree.
The incident sparked public outrage and questions in parliament. Enfield Council had initiated eviction proceedings against the chain, describing the felling as a reckless act that caused huge damage and shortened the tree's lifespan. M&B has always maintained the work was necessary for safety reasons, claiming the oak was dying, a point disputed by tree experts.
In a joint statement, M&B sincerely apologised for the upset caused. The council acknowledged that M&B acted on the recommendation of professional advisers to mitigate health and safety risks. The settlement will fund the restoration of an orchard in Enfield's Ridgeway corridor as part of the Enfield Chase landscape restoration scheme, including planting 1,000 trees nearby.
The felling was carried out by Ground Control, a maintenance firm based in Billericay, Essex. Enfield Council referred the matter to the Metropolitan Police, but they declined to investigate, deeming it a civil issue. M&B is majority-owned by Enic, which has financial links to Tottenham Hotspur football club.
The club has denied any connection between the felling and its plans to build a women's football training academy on adjacent land. A judicial review against Enfield's planning permission for the Spurs complex, brought by campaign group Guardian of Whitewebbs, is scheduled for later this month.
