Council leader accepted Spurs tickets days before felling of ancient oak

The person of Enfield assembly is nether unit to recuse himself from decisions implicit the spot plans of Tottenham Hotspur, aft accepting lucifer tickets days earlier the felling of an past oak by a institution financially linked to the shot club.

Labour’s Ergin Erbil has been the nationalist dependable of the council’s outrage astatine the felling connected 3 April of a 500-year-old past oak by contractors for Mitchells & Butlers Retail (MBR), the pub concatenation that runs a Toby Carvery connected onshore leased from the London borough.

In a declaration connected gifts and hospitality Erbil disclosed that connected 23 March helium accepted 5 escaped tickets from Spurs’ foundation arm, the Tottenham Hotspur FC Foundation, to ticker a affable veterans lucifer betwixt the nine and AC Milan.

Spurs and MBR are majority-owned by the concern institution Enic. Last period the Guardian revealed Spurs had an enactment to lease from MBR the land wherever the remains of the felled histrion are.

In February, Enfield granted Spurs outline readying support to physique a women’s shot grooming academy connected 17 hectares of adjacent onshore connected a erstwhile play people connected Whitewebbs Park. The nine plans to rent the onshore progressive from the assembly successful a £2m deal.

During the lucifer astatine the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which Spurs legends won 6-2, Erbil chatted to the club’s executive, Donna-Maria Cullen, but helium said helium was not lobbied by the nine and they did not sermon the Whitewebbs improvement oregon the lease enactment connected the Toby Carvery site.

Erbil and different Enfield councillor accepted the tickets aft readying support was granted to Spurs for the Whitewebbs improvement – a determination successful which neither councillor was involved.

Erbil said immoderate proposition of a nexus betwixt his attendance astatine the crippled and the felling of the oak “veers into conspiracy mentation territory”.

He said: “I cull the thought that attending a foundation lawsuit with different assemblage stakeholders compromises my integrity. The lawsuit had nary transportation to assembly concern and nary bearing connected immoderate aboriginal decisions involving Spurs oregon MBR.”

But campaigners said the hospitality raised questions astir the narration betwixt Spurs and the assembly and urged Erbil to recuse himself from aboriginal decisions involving the nine spot plans successful the borough.

Ed Allnutt, the caput of Guardians of Whitewebbs, a radical campaigning to clasp the country arsenic a nationalist park, said: “Erbil claims a deficiency of engagement successful the improvement of the park. This is not credible. It is simply a large improvement successful the borough wherever helium leads the council. Our knowing is that successful his role, helium volition person to motion disconnected connected the S106 conditions for the Spurs plans. Will helium recuse himself from this responsibility?”

A Labour London spokesperson said Erbil would recuse himself from immoderate imaginable aboriginal decisions connected the improvement and immoderate imaginable power of the onshore leased by Mitchells & Butlers to Spurs.

But Erbil said specified decisions were matters for his colleagues connected the readying committee and the spot and ineligible team. A spokesperson for Enfield assembly said: “Erbil has acted with integrity and transparency throughout. We are not going to get into speculation astir whether helium would recuse himself from hypothetical situations sometime successful the future.”

Tree specialists commissioned by Spurs past year, arsenic portion of its Whitewebbs development, concluded that the Toby Carvery oak was a “fine specimen” that would unrecorded for astatine slightest different 50 years. MBR said it was felled for information reasons arsenic it was dormant oregon diseased – a assertion rejected by campaigners and experts who this week valued the histrion astatine £960,000 owed to its ecological importance.

Spurs’ histrion survey suggested the oak was connected council-owned onshore extracurricular the country leased by MBR. Erbil said his officers had “100% confirmed” the felled histrion was connected assembly onshore leased by MBR.

He said: “The thought that the histrion was removed to facilitate a aboriginal roadworthy for Spurs is factually incorrect and geographically implausible.”

He added: “Enfield assembly is taking ineligible enactment against Mitchells & Butlers for cutting down the histrion without permission, which breached their lease. As a result, the assembly has stopped accepting rent from them.”

Under the presumption of the lease, MBR committed to protecting scenery and to lone transportation retired works to trees with the support of the council, which it did not question earlier felling the oak.

A abstracted Forestry Commission inquiry into the felling of the histrion is taking place.

A Spurs spokesperson said the foundation lucifer Erbil attended raised wealth for its instauration that promotes section projects connected wellbeing, employment and education.