🌳 Follow us on instagram for all the latest! 🌳
Dear supporters,
Thank you for continuing to call for justice for the Whitewebbs Oak. Although we are still making national headlines, and significant progress, the battle is not over yet. Please amplify our calls for an overdue criminal investigation into the butchering of this beloved tree.
Firstly, we are delighted by the support we have received from acclaimed actor and long-time campaigner for trees, Dame Judi Dench.
The fact that Judi has spoken out against the felling of the Whitewebbs Oak and planned destruction of over two-hundred trees at Whitewebbs Park underscores the huge ecological value of Whitewebbs and its precious ancient woodland, which is under threat.
You may well have also seen the recent news, covered in The Guardian, that Mitchells & Butlers face eviction for taking a chainsaw to the Oak without permission from the landowner, Enfield Council, in April last year. Is this justice for the Oak?
Your determination and support has led to the council taking legal action against the Toby Carvery chain. Without the huge public outcry, the council may have not taken such a strong stance, demanding an apology and compensation from those responsible for cutting the tree’s life short by hundreds of years.
However, it is important to stress that the battle is far from over. Enfield Council originally reported the felling to the Metropolitan Police as criminal damage. Considering this fact, and the council's strong statements about the illegality of the act, we continue to ask: why has the matter not been pursued with a full criminal investigation as there was in the Sycamore Gap case? Neither tree had a Tree Protection Order (TPO), yet those who felled Sycamore Gap are serving long prison sentences for the same crime, criminal damage. At 450-500 years-old, the irreplaceable Whitewebbs Oak was ecologically far more valuable. We are continuing to press for a full criminal investigation.
The historic Whitewebbs House, located metres from the Whitewebbs Oak, is believed to be where Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators plotted against Parliament, earning the tree the local moniker of ‘Guy Fawkes Oak’. Now the possible eviction of the Toby Carvery chain from this building raises the question of who will take over the lease and freehold of the building. We have not sought the closure of the Toby Carvery and are concerned what may happen to Whitewebbs House and the surrounding area.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, who received planning permission to develop 16 hectares of the public open space at Whitewebbs Park, adjacent to the Toby Carvery site, are poised to enter a lease agreement with the council for over 53 hectares of parkland close to the Carvery. This incredibly wealthy football club, with a considerable property portfolio, has close financial links with Mitchells & Butlers (the owners of the Toby Carvery chain).
Spurs also have an option to buy Mitchells & Butlers’ lease, so have an interest in acquiring the pub site too. We seek assurances that the chain is not being evicted in order to hand the site to Spurs, and take it away from the community.
Spurs plan to fell 207 trees and transplant a further 40 at Whitewebbs. Their promise to undertake mass planting of saplings in the park is purely to secure the mandated biodiversity net gain for planning conditions. It is ecologically unnecessary, and even damaging: there are thousands of native trees already regenerating naturally. The plan shows a complete lack of ecological understanding
Enfield Council have described Mitchell’s & Butlers' actions in butchering the Whitewebbs Oak as demonstrating 'reckless disregard for our borough'. Will Spurs now prove their commitment to the people of Enfield and end all financial ties they have with the company?
Will the council continue to seek compensation and demand that the police conduct a full investigation into the criminal damage done to the tree, which will likely lead to its death?
Next steps - please help get justice for the Oak by:
⭐ Taking just 30 seconds to ask the local MP and the London Police and Crime Commissioner that the felling is treated as a crime (contact details at this link)!
⭐ Signing up to our newsletter!