Recent national media reports had suggested Tottenham Hotspur was planning a move to acquire the historic building’s lease, but the club denies this
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has said that “nothing is happening” regarding Whitewebbs House amid speculation around the building’s future.
Following the controversial felling of an ancient oak tree by Toby Carvery, the current occupants of the 18th Century building within Whitewebbs Park, The Guardian revealed last month that Spurs “had entered into an option arrangement” for the site with Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) plc, the pub company which operates Toby Carvery.
Multiple national media reports of the ancient oak felling also highlighted the financial ties between the football club’s owners Enic and M&B, with both companies sharing the same largest shareholder, the family trust of businessman Joe Lewis, while Josh Levy, son of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, sits on the board of M&B.
Even though M&B admitted felling the 450-year-old Whitewebbs oak, citing health and safety grounds, the financial and personal ties between the two companies led many to speculate online over whether Tottenham Hotspur had any involvement.
In response to The Guardian article, a Spurs spokesperson said it was “ridiculous” to suggest the tree was felled to make the land easier to develop.
This week, the Dispatch asked the Premier League club to simply confirm or deny whether it was intending to acquire the lease on Whitewebbs House.
A spokesperson responded: “We have nothing to say on this as nothing is happening.”
The ancient oak tree was situated on the edge of the car park for the existing Toby Carvery on land leased to M&B by Enfield Council. Because the council’s permission had not been sought for the felling, however, the civic centre has since said it is considering legal action against the company, while also issuing emergency tree preservation orders (TPOs) for the remaining trees across the site.
Tottenham Hotspur won planning approval from the council’s planning committee in February for its contentious women’s and girls’ football academy at Whitewebbs Park on land immediately adjacent to Whitewebbs House.
Some of the speculation around the felled tree concerned a previously-proposed access road being built through Whitewebbs Wood, however this road did not run through the area of the ancient oak tree and, in any case, councillors at February’s committee voted to remove the access road from the Spurs plans.
Meanwhile, a petition launched via Change.org demanding “justice for the Whitewebbs oak” is now nearing 50,000 signatures.
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