Enfield Council has threatened the Toby Carvery pub chain with legal action after the felling of a 500-year-old oak tree.
The pub chain arranged for the ancient oak in North London to be axed after an assessment revealed the tree posed a health and safety risk.
The council sent a criminal damage report to the Met Police who concluded there was no evidence of misconduct.
However, council leader Ergin Erbil has said that while the police are treating it as a civil matter, the local authority would
‘continue to take appropriate legal action.’
‘We have evidence that this tree was alive and starting to grow new Spring leaves when this action was taken,’ he said.
‘Our team of experts checked the tree in December 2024 and found it was healthy and posed no risk to the neighbouring car park and its users.’
He continued: ‘As the landowner we believe this action has broken the terms of the lease which requires Toby Carvery to maintain and protect the existing landscape.’
The local authority is currently seeking advice and will ‘take appropriate legal action,’ according to Cllr Erbil.
‘If any criminal activity is found during our investigation, we will not hesitate to report this to the Police again.’
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