An ancient oak felled in a north London park on the order of Toby Carvery's owners was healthy and could have lived "for another few hundred years", the leader of the local council has said.
Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) said on Tuesday it was responsible for chopping down the 500-year-old tree, "to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public".
An Enfield Council planning document from March 2024 stated that the pedunculate oak was a "fine specimen" with high ecological and landscape value and had a life expectancy of at least 50 years.
But council leader Ergin Erbil said a more recent inspection found the tree could have lived for several more centuries.
He said: "Our experts surveyed this tree in December and they said it's healthy... so I completely oppose the argument from the leaseholder that this posed a health and safety risk."
Describing the felling of the tree as an "outrage", Mr Erbil added that M&B "did not consult us as the landowner, and they should have". The oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of council-owned Whitewebbs Park and overlooked a Toby Carvery.
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jwjx5kppo |
