Toby Carvery could face £1m bill after chopping 500-year-old tree
The owners of a Toby Carvery could face a £1million bill for cutting down an ancient oak.
Mitchell and Butlers has admitted its contractors felled the 500-year old tree next to a Toby Carvery car park in north London because of fears it was dead and its branches posed a threat to public safety.
But Enfield council, which leased the land to Mitchell and Butlers, has revealed its own inspection of the oak in December 2024 found the tree was healthy and posed no risk.
The council now says it will be pursuing legal action over the tree which has been valued at £1million, £300k more than the Sycamore Gap tree felled in September 2023.
Ergin Erbil, leader of the council, said: 'I am outraged that the leaseholder has cut down this beautiful ancient oak tree without seeking any permissions or advice from Enfield council.'
He added the council had 'evidence that this tree was alive and starting to grow new spring leaves when this action was taken'.
'The police are treating it as a civil matter but we will continue to take appropriate legal action,' he said, adding the council believes the felling 'has broken the terms of the lease which requires Toby Carvery to maintain and protect the existing landscape.
'The tree was the oldest one on site and cutting it down seems to be a clear breach of this condition.'
The oak was discovered cut back to its stump in Whitewebbs Park in Enfield after being felled on April 3.
Meanwhile, two coffee cups believed to have been left by workmen who chopped it down have been taken as evidence.
Environmental campaigners say they have secured two white china cups left there.
Describing it as the Whitewebbs Oak Massacre on X, Russell Miller, a member of the Ancient Tree Forum and Tree Musketeers group, said: 'I inspected the tree yesterday afternoon.
'Mugs (with coffee/tea stains), known to have been there since the tree operations, were still on site.
'I messaged @EnfieldCouncil and @metpoliceuk to ask that they be collected and secured as evidence.'
The Met has said the tree was not subject to a Tree Preservation Order when it was felled.
At 20ft wide the oak was one of London's oldest and largest. Such trees can live up to 1,000 years and support more native wildlife than any other tree, making them valuable for biodiversity.
Checks and balances for danger
The tree has been dubbed the 'Guy Fawkes oak' because of its proximity to the house where the Gunpowder Plot was hatched.
Mr Miller said the oak appeared to be worth around £1million based on the Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees system, which was also used to value the felled 150-year-old Sycamore Gap at £620,000.
The metric is more typically used by local authorities to value trees in decision-making around new developments.
Sarah Dodd, the founder of specialist legal firm Tree Law, said Mitchell and Butlers could be forced to pay for the value of the tree under the CAVAT system if it was proved that they had not taken appropriate actions before felling the oak.
'There are checks and balances to go through to show if a tree is dangerous and if it does need to be felled,' Ms Dodds said.
'There are ways to manage the danger that a tree might pose – to keep it there but manage the risk involved.'
An unlimited penalty
The Forestry Commission is also assessing whether a felling licence was required before the oak could be cut down.
Businesses have a legal requirement to obtain permission from the commission before felling more than five cubic metres of timber, which experts say the oak appeared to be.
Cutting down trees without a licence carries an unlimited penalty upon conviction.
Mitchell and Butlers, which operates 1,600 restaurants across the UK, was approached for comment on the potential legal action.
On Tuesday, the company said: 'This was an essential action to protect our employees and guests. Our specialist arboriculture contractors made the assessment that the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk and advised that the tree was unsafe and should be removed.
'We took every necessary measure to ensure all legal requirements were met. We are grateful to our expert contractors for warning us of this hazard so swiftly, allowing us to act before anyone was harmed.'
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