An ancient oak felled in a north London park by Toby Carvery’s owners was healthy and could have lived “for another few hundred years”, the local council has said.

Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) said on Tuesday it was responsible for chopping down the 500-year-old tree on 3 April “to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public”.

An Enfield Council planning document from March 2024 found that the pedunculate oak was a “fine specimen” with high ecological and landscape value and had a life expectancy of at least 50 years.

But Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said an inspection in December revealed the tree could have lived for several centuries.

He said: “Our experts surveyed this tree in December and they said it’s healthy and could live another few hundred years so I completely oppose the argument from the leaseholder that this posed a health and safety risk.”

The council said on Tuesday it had reported the felling as criminal damage to the Met Police, which is understood to have closed its inquiry, deeming it a civil matter.

The planning document, based on a November 2023 inspection, stated that the tree was in “moderate good” condition and recommended a “light reduction of the upper crown on [the] north side”.

Initially, a source for M&B said on Tuesday that the company had approved the cutting down of the oak after being told the tree was dead. The oak is located on the edge of Whitewebbs Park, close to a Toby Carvery.

In an official statement hours later, M&B stated it had received advice from contractors, who said “the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk”.

It subsequently removed this statement in a further update, but maintained the company “took necessary measures to ensure any legal requirements were met”.

The BBC has asked M&B for information about the contractor that cut down the tree. The company has not provided this and has also declined the BBC’s request for an interview.

Dr Ed Pyne, senior conservation advisor for trees at the Woodland Trust, said of the cutting down of the oak: “I couldn’t quite believe it, to be honest.

“I’ve been working with trees in various capacities now as an arborist, as an academic for close to 14 years and in all that time I don’t think I’ve seen a tree felling as shocking as this.”

The tree, with a girth of 6m (20ft), was a nationally significant pedunculate oak listed on the Woodland Trust’s ancient tree inventory.

News of the destruction of the oak comes just two days after a report from the charity Tree Council and researchers Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected, with some “significant legal gaps”.

It recommends the development of a “robust and effective system” to ensure they are safeguarded.

The Enfield oak was worth £1m, according to tree valuer Russell Miller, who made his estimate using the Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees system.

Mr Miller said it was “much older and much more valuable” than the Sycamore Gap tree cut down in Northumberland in 2023.

He added: “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 invertebrate.

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

A spokesperson for M&B said: “The tree was cut back after we were advised that it caused a serious health and safety risk.

“Upon further inspection, our specialist arboriculture contractors made the assessment that the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk and advised that the tree was unsafe and should be removed.

“We are grateful to our expert contractors for warning us of this hazard so swiftly, allowing us to act before anyone was harmed.”