The 500-year-old tree which was known locally as the ‘Guy Fawkes Oak’ was reduced to a stump (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Campaigners have said they welcome an apology from a pub chain boss after an ancient oak tree was felled – but have demanded ‘full transparency’ over how it happened.
Phil Urban,from company Mitchells & Butlers,wrote a letter and apologised for ‘the upset that it has caused’ after a 500-year-old tree was felled outside of a branch of its Toby Carvery in north London.
The tree,which was known locally as the ‘Guy Fawkes Oak’,was reduced to a stump in the pub chain’s car park in Enfield on April 3.
Enfield Council,which owns the land,called for the police to investigate the felling after The Woodland Trust demanded justice.
Ed Allnutt from the Guardians of Whitewebbs told Metro: ‘We welcome the admission of responsibility and apology.
‘But now we want transparency over the decisions that led the tree to be felled. Just who were the contractors who did the work? Why was that particular tree chosen when there are many others?’
He also called for Mitchell’s & Butlers,who own Toby Carvery,to fully engage with a Civil complaint against them being brought by Enfield Council.
He added: ‘What surveys were done for example. The chain needs to co-operate fully with the investigation.’
Jack Taylor from conservation organisation the Woodlands Trust also welcomed the apology but said ‘too many questions have been left unanswered’.
He told Metro: ‘The tree was not dead. Where is the evidence they used to carry this out. What alternatives to felling did they look at? It’s not good enough.’
Mr Urban insisted that the company had acted in good faith,saying they were told the tree posed a health and safety risk.
The tree did not have a tree preservation order on it because it was on council land,which should have given it automatic protection.
He wrote in his apology letter: ‘Clearly the felling of a beautiful old tree is a very emotive subject and is not something any of us would undertake lightly.
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‘I can only apologise for all the upset that it has caused.’
He added: ‘In this instance,one of our team acted in good faith in response to expert advice and authorised the work to be done.
‘However,I would totally accept that this was an exceptional circumstance,and as part of our review,we have already concluded that we need to tighten our protocols to ensure that if something like this were to ever happen again,that we could still protect our guests,team members and/or general wider public from harm but have time for a fuller consultation.’
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