Toby Carvery has settled a legal dispute with Enfield Council over the unauthorised partial felling of a 500-year-old oak tree, agreeing to fund the restoration of an orchard and pay the council’s legal costs. The chain, operated by Mitchells & Butler Retail (M&B), had chainsawed the ancient tree in Whitewebbs Park, north London, last April, sparking public outrage and questions in parliament.
Enfield Council, which owns the land, began eviction proceedings earlier this year, describing the act as reckless and harmful. Under the settlement, M&B will finance the replanting of a community orchard in the borough’s Ridgeway corridor as part of the Enfield Chase landscape restoration scheme, alongside planting 1,000 additional trees nearby. The company will also pay for treatment of the oak’s remains, which experts say have little hope of surviving.
In a joint statement, M&B apologised sincerely for the upset caused. The council acknowledged that M&B acted on the recommendation of professional advisers, citing health and safety risks to guests and the public. However, tree experts have disputed the claim that the oak was dying and needed removal for safety reasons.
The felling was carried out by Ground Control, a maintenance firm based in Billericay, Essex. Enfield Council referred the matter to the Metropolitan Police last year, but the force declined to investigate, deeming it a civil issue.
M&B is majority-owned by Enic, an investment company with ties to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The club has denied any connection between the tree’s felling and its plans to build a women’s football training academy on adjacent land in the park. A judicial review, brought by the campaign group Guardian of Whitewebbs, is scheduled later this month to challenge the planning permission granted for the Spurs complex.
