The opposition party has criticised Enfield Council’s Conservative administration for reaching an agreement with Mitchells & Butlers over the Whitewebbs Oak tree reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter
Labour have criticised Enfield Council’s announcement this week that the case surrounding Whitewebbs Oak is closed, describing the tree’s felling as “an outrage”.
The response, delivered by Enfield Labour yesterday (Thursday, 11th), follows a statement released by the council on Wednesday (10th), saying the matter had been settled.
The Conservative-led local authority announced it had reached an out-of-court settlement with pub company Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) over the felling of a 500-year-old oak tree at Whitewebbs.
M&B’s boss had previously issued an apology for the incident, claiming that “the people involved did act in good faith and with good intentions”.
The resolution comes more than a year after news first broke in April 2025 that the tree close to Toby Carvery at Whitewebbs House had been cut down, causing significant public outcry.
The Labour-led council in charge at the time responded by issuing a legal notice to the company. Conservative councillors recently formed a new minority administration, following the local elections on 7th May.
The joint-statement between the Tory-led council and M&B issued late on Wednesday said the legal challenge had been resolved through a settlement and that both parties “now consider this matter closed”.
On Thursday Enfield Labour responded, expressing “disappointment” regarding the resolution.
“That the Whitewebbs Oak was felled was an outrage”, the group said, adding: “The legal action launched by Enfield Council when run by Enfield Labour could have been a landmark case, demonstrating clearly that when licence holders breach their lease in such an egregious manner, councils have the right to terminate that lease.”
The opposition described the move as “a slap in the face to the people of Enfield”, adding that it was “good news for big business” at the cost of the borough’s residents.
The settlement announced this week involves an as-yet undisclosed donation from M&B to support the local authority’s Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration scheme, the capital’s largest tree-planting project.
Labour argued that the scheme is “already well-funded” and described the settlement as “a complete cop-out”.
A different tone has been struck between the council and M&B. In their joint statement the two parties said: “We recognise that the felling of a well-loved veteran tree within the grounds of the Toby Carvery, Whitewebbs, has upset many local people, and we fully understand the strength of feeling this has caused. Mitchells & Butlers again, sincerely apologises for the upset this has caused.
“M&B and Enfield Council agree that, while ensuring the health and safety of the public must remain paramount, communication and engagement in relation to decisions affecting the local environment are important objectives and they will continue to work together constructively on these matters.
“Enfield Council recognises that M&B acted on the recommendation of reputable, professional advisors in taking the steps that it did, for the purpose of mitigating any health and safety risk to guests, team members and the wider public arising from the condition of the tree.
“Both M&B and Enfield Council remain committed to being responsible custodians of the local environment. As a public demonstration of its commitment M&B has agreed to contribute to the costs incurred on treatment to the tree and in addition to make a donation towards the council’s Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration scheme, London’s largest woodland and nature restoration initiative.
“M&B’s donation will enable the restoration of an historic lost orchard along the Ridgeway corridor within the wider Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration scheme. This will re-establish a publicly accessible community orchard, restore landscape character and biodiversity, and provide locally grown fruit for residents and visitors. In addition, M&B’s donation will enable the planting and maintenance of a thousand new trees surrounding and connecting the orchard habitat, contributing to nature recovery, climate resilience, public access, and landscape-scale ecological restoration.
“M&B’s donation to the Enfield Chase Landscape Restoration scheme will further Enfield Council’s Blue and Green Strategy and is in line with M&B’s wider sustainability objectives.
“The parties now consider this matter closed.”
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