Toby Carvery owner faces eviction after felling 500-year-old oak tree
Bosses at Toby Carvery could face eviction from their north London premises after a beloved local oak tree was partially felled.
The Whitewebbs oak surrounding the local steakhouse was partially felled last year without permission from Enfield council. This action sparked outrage from local residents for the “careless” loss of what they called a “local landmark”.
In a statement published on Wednesday, the local authority said it was “treating the matter as a criminal damage charge” and had initiated eviction proceedings against the property owners, hospitality giant Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), for “serious breaches of leases”.
He added that M&B had “failed to engage meaningfully with the council or pay compensation”.
The Oak earned its nickname from its proximity to Whitewebbs House, a known conspirator haunt during the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. It was in the top 100 of London’s 600,000 oak trees in terms of size and was believed to have “more ecological value than the Plane Causeway”.
M&B has previously said arboriculture experts recommended felling the tree because it posed a “serious health and safety risk”.
Council deputy leader Tim Leaver said in a statement that the partial felling of the oak had “shocked and angered” the community and claimed it had “shortened the life expectancy” of the oak.
“This century-old tree, sometimes known as the Guy Fawkes Oak, was an irreplaceable part of Enfield’s natural heritage and was felled without the knowledge or permission of the council, in clear breach of the lease governing the site,” he said.
“We will do everything in our power to achieve justice for the Whitewebbs oak and seek to make it clear that this type of reckless disrespect for our borough will never be tolerated.”
He claimed M&B did not “engage meaningfully” with the county or offer compensation for the damage.
The council is demanding a formal public apology and financial compensation for what they describe as “irreversible damage” to the borough’s shared heritage.
The agency said property owners are served with a formal Section 146 notice, which acts as a formal legal notice from a landlord to a tenant, stating that the tenant has breached their lease and giving them a chance to fix it before the landlord takes action.
A spokesman for Toby Carvery said: “Due to ongoing legal proceedings there will be no further comment.”
