Latest news with #RussellMiller
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Oak felling: 'A crime against 500-year-old being'
There was anger and sadness among people who turned out over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend to protest at the destruction of a tree in Enfield thought to be up to 500 years old. "This is a crime against nature," said one campaigner. "It's a crime against a 500-year-old being." Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to protest the felling of an ancient oak tree in Whitewebbs Park in north London. The pedunculate oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of an Enfield council-owned park in north London and overlooked the Toby Carvery pub. The council leased the land on which the tree stood to the Toby Carvery. The felling of the tree was not discovered by the council until last week. On Wednesday, Enfield Council's leader branded the felling "an outrage" and said all legal options were being considered. Mitchells & Butlers, the owners of the Toby Carvery pub chain, said they cut down the tree after being told it was dead. In a statement, the company said it had received advice from contractors, who said "the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk". They subsequently added in a later statement that it had taken "necessary measures to ensure any legal requirements were met". Thousands of people have signed a petition that has asked Enfield Council for an independent investigation into what happened. Here were some of the reactions over the weekend to the felling of the tree. Independent tree consultation Russell Miller told BBC London: "We think this is one of probably less than 100 [trees] in London of this size, so it's a very significant loss. "It is possible the tree will shoot, but the chances are the wounds on it are so big it will desiccate, as although the shoots will grow, they will then die because the whole system fails." The tree, with a girth of 20ft (6m), was a nationally significant pedunculate oak listed on the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory. News of the destruction of the oak came just days after a report from the charity Tree Council and environmental group Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected, with some "significant legal gaps". Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Why are ancient trees important and what protection do they have? Toby Carvery owner 'sorry' over ancient tree felling Felled Enfield oak 'had hundreds of years to live' Enfield Council
BBC News
21-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Enfield oak felling: 'A crime against 500-year-old being'
There was anger and sadness among people who turned out over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend to protest at the destruction of a tree in Enfield thought to be up to 500 years old."This is a crime against nature," said one campaigner. "It's a crime against a 500-year-old being." Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to protest the felling of an ancient oak tree in Whitewebbs Park in north pedunculate oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of an Enfield council-owned park in north London and overlooked the Toby Carvery pub. The council leased the land on which the tree stood to the Toby Carvery. The felling of the tree was not discovered by the council until last week. On Wednesday, Enfield Council's leader branded the felling "an outrage" and said all legal options were being & Butlers, the owners of the Toby Carvery pub chain, said they cut down the tree after being told it was a statement, the company said it had received advice from contractors, who said "the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk".They subsequently added in a later statement that it had taken "necessary measures to ensure any legal requirements were met".Thousands of people have signed a petition that has asked Enfield Council for an independent investigation into what were some of the reactions over the weekend to the felling of the tree. Independent tree consultation Russell Miller told BBC London: "We think this is one of probably less than 100 [trees] in London of this size, so it's a very significant loss."It is possible the tree will shoot, but the chances are the wounds on it are so big it will desiccate, as although the shoots will grow, they will then die because the whole system fails."The tree, with a girth of 20ft (6m), was a nationally significant pedunculate oak listed on the Woodland Trust's ancient tree of the destruction of the oak came just days after a report from the charity Tree Council and environmental group Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected, with some "significant legal gaps".
Telegraph
16-04-2025
- Telegraph
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.'
