The owner of Toby Carvery has issued an apology following the controversial felling of an ancient oak tree and acknowledged the need to improve their protocols. The 500-year-old oak tree was cut down despite a planning document from March 2024 describing it as a “fine specimen” and the council confirming that it had many more centuries to live. Enfield Council’s leader condemned the tree felling as an “outrage” and stated that all legal options were being explored in response.
The decision to chop down the ancient oak, which occurred on 3rd April, sparked outrage as the tree was situated on the outskirts of an Enfield council-owned park in north London, overlooking a Toby Carvery establishment. Phil Urban, the chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the parent company of the pub chain, expressed regret for the distress caused by the incident, acknowledging that the removal of such a significant tree was a sensitive matter. He mentioned that an employee, acting on expert advice, authorized the felling in good faith, leading to the need for stricter protocols to prevent such occurrences in the future.
Despite initially claiming that the oak tree was dead before being cut down, M&B later retracted their statement and highlighted safety concerns as the primary reason for the tree removal. Enfield Council reported the tree felling as a case of criminal damage to the Metropolitan Police, who closed the inquiry, deeming it a civil matter. The chief executive assured residents of being good neighbors and promised a thorough review to handle exceptional circumstances differently in the future, aiming to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
The ancient oak, with a circumference of 6m (20ft), held national significance and was listed on the Woodland Trust’s ancient tree inventory. Just days before the tree’s destruction, a report from the Tree Council and Forest Research organization emphasized the need for a robust system to protect such valuable trees, pointing out significant legal loopholes in their protection. The incident has stirred discussions about the importance of safeguarding ancient trees and the necessity for stricter regulations to preserve them for future generations
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