Toby Carvery owner 'sorry' over ancient tree felling

The tree was chopped down on 3 April

Toby Carvery's owner has apologised over the upset caused after the company felled an ancient oak tree and admitted "we need to tighten our protocols" in a letter seen by the BBC.

The company cut down the 500-year-old oak despite a March 2024 planning document that called it a "fine specimen", and the council stating it had centuries to live.

On Wednesday, Enfield Council's leader branded the felling "an outrage" and said all legal options were being considered.

Phil Urban, from Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), wrote: "Clearly the felling of a beautiful old tree is a very emotive subject and is not something any of us would undertake lightly. I can only apologise for all the upset that it has caused."

'Good faith'

The pedunculate oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of Enfield council-owned park in north London and overlooked a Toby Carvery.

Mr Urban, chief executive of M&B which owns the pub chain, wrote to residents explaining that he "only became aware of what had happened at Whitewebbs Park when it was reported on in the media".

He said: "In this instance, one of our team acted in good faith in response to expert advice and authorised the work to be done.

"However, I would totally accept that this was an exceptional circumstance, and as part of our review, we have already concluded that we need to tighten our protocols to ensure that if something like this were to ever happen again, that we could still protect our guests, team members and/or general wider public from harm but have time for a fuller consultation."

Enfield Council said on Tuesday it had reported the felling as a case of criminal damage to the Met Police, which is understood to have closed its inquiry, deeming it a civil matter.

Reacting to the apology, Gaynor Evans, from the friends of Whitewebbs Park, said it was "a bit after the horse has bolted".

She added: "The very fact he's had to apologise does show the outcry there has been.

"It seems to have lit everybody up which is a great story for Whitewebbs Park in general but at the cost of a marvellous, beautiful tree."

The chief executive added he wanted "to assure you that we do try to be good neighbours".

He said: "On a personal level, I am very sorry for all the anger and upset that this incident has caused.

"I am not expecting my words to resolve the depth of feeling, but I do hope that you will accept that we do try to always be responsible operators, and that the people involved did act in good faith and with good intentions.

"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."

An event is being planned for Sunday which organisers say will feature "expert talks, banners, placards, protesting and a moment of silence mourning the loss of the tree".

On Tuesday, M&B said the company had approved the cutting down of the oak after being told the tree was dead.

In its statement, it said it had received advice from contractors, who said "the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk."

M&B subsequently added in a later statement it had taken "necessary measures to ensure any legal requirements were met".

A local took a picture of a cherry-picker operating at the tree

The tree, with a girth of 6m (20ft), was a nationally significant pedunculate oak listed on the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory.

News of the destruction of the oak came just two days after a report from the charity Tree Council and the Forest Research organisation warned that trees were only indirectly protected, with some "significant legal gaps".

It recommended the development of a "robust and effective system" to ensure they were safeguarded.