Paul Powlesland@paulpowlesland
Very disturbing reports today that a nationally significant ancient oak (over 6 metres in circumference) was felled in Whitewebbs Park in Tottenham. The facts are still not clear about who did it & why, but it appears to be on land owned by LB Enfield who did not give permission, so has been reported to the police as criminal damage.
Despite its age & size the tree did not have a Tree Protection Order (TPO) on it because the Council does not consider that trees on land it owns do not need TPO protection too. They have now put a TPO on the remains of the tree, but it’s too soon to say whether the tree might produce fresh pollard growth or be killed by the shock.
This shows the desperate need for better protections for our veteran and ancient trees. A building the same age as this tree would almost certainly be listed (council owned or not), & we should have an equivalent system for trees, with equivalent enforcement & punishment.
In the meantime, @EnfieldCouncil need to:
- Properly investigate who felled this tree & demand prosecution.
- Practically & legally protect the remains of this ancient tree.
-Put TPO’s on all remaining trees at Whitewebbs Park to stop anything like this happening again.
