There are several policies and pieces of legislation in place which provide some protection for ancient and veteran trees in Britain, including:
- Tree protection orders, known as TPOs, which can be issued by local authorities for specific trees or woodlands and mean written permission must be sought before any work can be done on them
- Legal protection is provided when an ancient tree is based in a conservation area or somewhere like a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Felling licences must be sought from the Forestry Commission when the quantity of timber to be felled is over five cubic metres
- National planning policy framework defines ancient and veteran trees as irreplaceable, meaning that a local authority should not approve planning which could lead to a loss of these habitats unless in exceptional cases, such as national infrastructure work
Dr Pyne believes such legislation is "pretty good" when it comes to protecting trees, although improvements could be made.
Indeed, a joint report issued this week by the Tree Council and Forest Research warned that trees were only indirectly protected by the law and called for a more "robust and effective system".
What happened with the Enfield oak?
The oak, which was cut down on 3 April, was located on the edge of council-owned Whitewebbs Park and overlooked a Toby Carvery.
Mitchells & Butlers, which owns Toby Carvery, said on Tuesday that it was responsible for chopping down the pedunculate oak, which had been done "to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public".
However, Enfield Council told the BBC a recent inspection carried out on the tree found it could have lived for several more centuries.
Dr Pyne said the tree had "fallen through the gap" in terms of legislation.
"It didn't have a tree preservation order, it's not in a conservation area, and although there's been lots of planning applications in the area surrounding this tree, there hasn't been any planning application in the direct area of the tree, and so the planning policy framework hasn't kicked in.
"The loss is a tragedy, really," he added.
