A Toby Carvery restaurant is facing eviction from its site in north London after it sparked a furious backlash by felling a 500-year-old tree. 

The ancient oak, which once stood tall in Whitewebbs Park, in Enfield, was chopped down on April 3 last year.

Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, admitted its contractors felled the tree, near the restaurant, after acting on the advice of experts who assessed it as dying and a risk to the public. 

But Enfield Council, which leases the land to Mitchells & Butlers, later revealed it found the oak was healthy and posed no risk during an inspection in December 2024. 

Residents said they were ‘devastated’ by the damage to the tree and Enfield Council said it was ‘treating the matter as criminal damage’.   

Councillor Tim Leaver, Deputy Leader of Enfield Council said the felling of the ‘irreplaceable’ tree was a ‘reckless act’ which ‘shocked and angered our entire community’.

The council said Mitchells & Butlers had ‘failed to engage meaningfully with the council or to make reparations’. 

They have now started eviction proceedings against the restaurant’s owners for ‘serious breaches of their lease’. 

A Toby Carvery restaurant is facing eviction from its site in north London after the company sparked a furious backlash by felling a 500-year-old oak 

The ancient tree, which once stood tall in Whitewebbs Park, in Enfield, was chopped down on April 3 last year

The Toby Carvery site (pictured) in Whitewebbs Park, in Enfield, could face closure as a result of the felling

Councillor Leaver added: ‘The destruction of the ancient Whitewebbs Oak was a reckless act which caused huge damage to the tree and cut its expected lifespan. It shocked and angered our entire community.

‘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.

‘Enfield Council has served a formal Section 146 notice on Mitchells & Butlers, the company responsible for the Toby Carvery at Whitewebbs Park. They have failed to engage meaningfully with the Council or to make reparations. We have therefore started forfeiture proceedings for serious breaches of their lease.

‘We ask that Mitchells & Butlers issues a public apology and provide financial reparations for the irreversible damage they have caused as well as compensate the Council for the significant costs incurred.

‘The people of Enfield deserve accountability. This case is about upholding our duty to protect our environment and our shared heritage.

‘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.’

A spokesperson for Toby Carvery, said: ‘There will be no further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings.’ 

The tree, which supported 2,000 species including birds, bats, insects and fungi, had a life expectancy of more than 80 years.  

Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, admitted its contractors cut down the tree 

The oak tree was described as ‘one of Enfield’s most iconic trees’ before it was chopped down

Its felling has been compared to that of the landmark Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. The iconic tree, which featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was valued at more than £620,000. 

Environmental campaigners and locals decried it as ‘devastating’.

Tree valuer Russell Miller, who estimated the oak tree was worth £1million, said it was ‘much older and much more valuable’ than the Sycampore Gap tree.

Mr Miller said: ‘This tree is designated… as an irreplaceable habitat because it’s got decay features and habitats within it that you cannot replace within hundreds of years.

‘In addition to the sorts of species that people are familiar with, like bats and owls that live in these trees, you’ve got thousands of species of invertebrates.

‘You’ve got lots of different niches for lots of different species inside the tree, and that’s why they’re so special.’