Toby Carvery owner faces eviction after felling 500-year-old oak tree

Toby Carvery bosses could face eviction from their north London site after the partial felling of a beloved local oak tree.

The Whitewebbs oak, which sits on the perimeter of the local carvery, was partially chopped down without the permission of Enfield council last year. The act prompted outrage from residents over the “reckless” loss of what they called a “local icon”.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the local authority said it was “treating the matter as criminal damage” and had started eviction proceedings against the owners, hospitality giant Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), for “serious breaches of their lease”.

It added that M&B had “failed to engage meaningfully with the council or to make reparations”.

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The oak earned its nickname from its proximity to Whitewebbs House, a known conspirator haunt during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. It was thought to be in the top 100 of London’s 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size, and was believed to have “more ecological value than the Sycamore Gap”.

M&B previously said it had been advised by arboriculture experts to fell the tree because it posed a “serious health and safety risk”.

Council deputy leader Tim Leaver said in a statement the oak’s partial felling had “shocked and angered” the community and claimed it had “cut its expected lifespan”.

“This centuries-old tree, sometimes known as the Guy Fawkes Oak, was an irreplaceable part of Enfield’s natural heritage and was felled without the council’s knowledge or consent, in clear breach of the lease governing the site,” he said.

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“We will do everything within our power to ensure justice for the Whitewebbs oak and seek to make it clear that such reckless disregard for our borough will never be tolerated.”

He alleged M&B has failed to “engage meaningfully” with the borough or offer reparations 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.

It said it had served a formal Section 146 notice on the owners, which acts as a formal legal warning from a landlord to a tenant, stating a tenant’s breach of lease covenants and giving them a chance to fix it before the landlord takes action.

A spokesperson for Toby Carvery said: “There will be no further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings.”