Latest news with #AdamCormack
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Spurs contractors judged felled Enfield oak to be ‘fine specimen'
An ancient London oak controversially felled earlier this month was assessed to be a 'fine specimen' last year by tree experts working for Tottenham Hotspur as part of the football club's plans to redevelop parkland next to the site. Mitchells and Butlers Retail (MBR), which owns the Toby Carvery in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, apologised on Thursday for the 'upset' caused by the felling of the tree. The company's financial links with Spurs have raised questions about how much the club knew about the decision to fell the tree. Spurs and MBR are majority-owned by the investment company Enic. In its latest annual accounts, MBR disclosed that it had entered into an option arrangement with Spurs to buy the lease on one of its retail sites, believed to be the Toby Carvery in Enfield. Spurs have submitted a planning application to build a women's football training academy on 17 hectares of adjacent land in Whitewebbs Park. It also submitted plans to build an access road from the training ground to the Toby Carvery. The plan for an access road has since been replaced with a scheme for a footpath across the site where the oak, which was up to 500 years old, stood. As part of the planning process, Spurs commissioned the Tree and Woodland Company to produce an arboreal impact assessment on the veteran woodland in the park. In a report submitted to Enfield council last July, the company assessed that the now felled oak was a 'fine specimen' that was expected to live for at least another 50 years. It recommended conservation measures for the tree as a high priority. MBR claimed its contractors felled the tree on 3 April for safety reasons after assessing that it was dead and diseased. In a letter to Enfield residents on Thursday, its chief executive, Phil Urban, said: 'I can only apologise for all the upset that it has caused.' It said: 'We are obliged to act on all health and safety issues where expert advice warns us of a direct risk to life or serious injury. We will complete a thorough review and ensure that, in future, exceptional situations are treated differently from the more regular health and safety issues that arise on a day-to-day basis.' Enfield council has threatened the company with legal action and has imposed a tree preservation order on the whole Toby Carvery site. The Woodlands Trust, which objected to the training facility plans because of the impact on ancient trees in the area, said Spurs and MBR had more questions to answer. Adam Cormack, the trust's head of campaigning, said: 'There is some uncertainty about whether the ancient Whitewebbs oak that was felled is or is not part of development plans for Tottenham Hotspur FC's new training facility and we'd like to seek clarification from the club on this.' Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Cormack welcomed Toby Carvery's apology but said it did not go far enough. He said: 'Toby Carvery must now be fully transparent with their paperwork and work with local authorities as they investigate. Did they know about the Spurs tree survey, which called the oak a 'fine specimen' and makes recommendations for its conservation? Did they consider any alternatives to felling, and if not, why not?' Russell Miller, an expert on ancient trees who visited the tree before it was felled and has inspected it since, said: 'I refute the claim that the tree was dying and dangerous. I have looked at the structural integrity of the tree and I saw it in December. There was no logic to touching that tree other than wanting an ancient tree out of the way because of some financial interest.' Police closed their investigation on Tuesday after deciding it was a civil matter. MBR decline to comment. Spurs have been approached for comment.
Sky News
15-04-2025
- Sky News
'Devastating' felling of ancient oak tree in London park reported to police
An ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old has been cut down in what has been called a "depressing" and "devastating" incident in north London. The remains of the trunk, surrounded by its severed branches, were discovered by council workers on 3 April in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield. Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, which supports legal protections for the country's oldest and most important trees, said: "This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place. "It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age." The tree, which had a girth of 6.1 metres, was thought to be in the top 100 of London's 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size. The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump. Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said: "We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. "We've now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back." On Monday, the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report calling for a "robust and effective system" to protect England's most important trees following the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023. 1:07 The trial of the two men, charged in connection with the felling, is due to take place later this month at Newcastle Crown Court. Ed Allnut, Enfield 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."
Sky News
15-04-2025
- Sky News
Ancient oak tree felled in north London park
Why you can trust Sky News An ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old has been cut down in what has been called a "depressing" and "devastating" crime in north London. The remains of the trunk, surrounded by its severed branches, were discovered by council workers on 3 April in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield. Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, which supports legal protections for the country's oldest and most important trees, said: "This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place. "It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age." The tree, which had a girth of 6.1 metres, was thought to be in the top 100 of London's 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size. The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump. Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said: "We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. "We've now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back." On Monday, the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report calling for a "robust and effective system" to protect England's most important trees following the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023. 1:07 The trial of the two men, charged in connection with the felling, is due to take place later this month at Newcastle Crown Court. Ed Allnut, Enfield 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."
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ancient oak tree felled in north London park
An ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old has been cut down in what has been called a "depressing" and "devastating" crime in north London. The remains of the trunk, surrounded by its severed branches, were discovered by council workers on 3 April in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield. Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, which supports legal protections for the country's oldest and most important trees, said: "This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place. "It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age." The tree, which had a girth of 6.1 metres, was thought to be in the top 100 of 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size. The incident has been reported to the and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump. Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said: "We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. "We've now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back." On Monday, the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report calling for a "robust and effective system" to protect England's most important trees following the in September 2023. The trial of the two men, charged in connection with the felling, is due to take place later this month at Newcastle Crown Court. Read more from Sky News: Ed Allnut, Enfield 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." Oak trees are valuable for UK wildlife, supporting thousands of species as well as capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Locals ‘devastated' after 400-year-old tree mysteriously felled in London park
Environmental campaigners and locals have decried the 'devastating' felling of an ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old in a north London park. Enfield Council workers discovered the tree, which has a girth of 6.1 metres, surrounded by its severed branches and trunk in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, last week. The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump. The tree is thought to be in the top 100 of London's 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size. The Woodland Trust, which has been advocating for legal protections for the country's oldest and most important trees, called the incident 'devastating'. Adam Cormack, the charity's head of campaigning, said: 'We don't know yet who did this or why and would urge anyone with information to come forward and report it to the police. 'This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place. 'It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age. 'Legally protected status for trees like the Whitewebbs Oak is long overdue. 'This issue has widespread public support and is an open goal for the government to act upon.' Ed Allnut, Enfield resident and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group said local people wanted justice for the old oak. 'The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am personally devastated,' he said. 'We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly.' Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said the tree felling occurred on April 3. 'Enfield Council cares deeply about protecting trees and green spaces in the borough,' he said. 'The council was not informed of this incident until last week. Our teams immediately carried out a full site inspection to assess the damage after receiving reports of the damage done to the tree. 'We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. We've now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back.' It comes as the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report on Monday, called for a 'robust and effective system' of protections as part of a wider action plan to protect England's most important trees in the wake of the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023. The trial of the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree is due to take place later this month in Newcastle Crown Court. The Woodland Trust cited support for its Living Legends petition that was handed to Downing Street with 100,000 signatures in November and the Heritage Trees Private Members Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Young in 2023. The legislation proposes the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a preservation order that could be used to promote the protection of ancient and important trees. Oak trees are valuable for UK wildlife with the ability to support more than 2,300 species as sequestering planet-heating carbon from the atmosphere.
