Mitchells & Butlers Retail (MBR), the restaurant group which owns Toby Carvery, was slammed for the decision to fell an ancient oak tree in Whitewebbs Park on April 3.
The company initially defended the move, saying tree experts assessed the oak as dying and a risk to the public.
However, contractors working for Tottenham Hotspur judged the tree to be a “fine specimen” in a report submitted to Enfield Council last July, as part of the club’s plans to redevelop the nearby land.
According to the Guardian, contractors Tree and Woodland Company assessed that the tree could be expected to live for another 50 years and recommended conservation measures as a “high priority”.
Spurs’ plans to build a women’s football training academy on a 17-hectare section of land in Whitewebbs Park, near the tree, were approved in February.
READ MORE: Tree thought to be 400 years old felled in Whitewebbs Park
The proposal includes an access road, later changed to a footpath, from the training ground to the Toby Carvery – which cuts across the site where the oak tree stands, according to the Guardian.
The Woodland Trust objected to the academy plans, fearing the “potential loss and deterioration” of ancient trees as a result of the development.
Spurs also has financial ties with restaurant group MBR, as both are majority-owned by the investment company Enic.
A Spurs spokesperson told the Guardian: “The tree and the decision to fell it has no connection to the club as the tree sits outside of our lease demise for our proposed women’s and girls’ training centre and academy.”
The club added that it was “ridiculous” to suggest the tree was felled to make the land easier to develop.
MBR now faces legal action from landowner Enfield Council over the felling of the tree.
Council leader Cllr Ergin Erbil previously told this paper that Toby Carvery had “broken the terms of the lease” by not even seeking advice about the condition of the tree.
He said the destroyed tree showed “clear signs of life” and that the council would do “everything it could” to help the tree grow back.
Mitchells & Butlers CEO Phil Urban did not comment on the breach when approached by this paper.
However in a letter to residents he said he was “very sorry” for all the anger and upset the incident had caused.
