Environmentalists battling to save a tree in North London have only a few days to visit it before they could face arrest.

The 123-year-old plane tree in Stroud Green has been the focus of protests since Haringey Council announced plans to fell it in April 2022 after insurance companies for two households claimed it was causing subsidence. 

Haringey Council sought a court order in December to block Haringey Tree Protectors and other campaigners from protesting at the tree in Oakfield Road. 

District Judge Alastair Redpath-Stephens granted an order at Clerkenwell County Court on Tuesday (April 4) banning protests from April 17 to 19.

The council’s injunction means any unauthorised person entering a defined area around the tree, climbing or occupying it between those dates could be arrested.

This paper has asked if that is when the tree is earmarked for felling.

But it could yet be saved.

One of the householders affected by subsidence, Andrew Brenner, has appealed after a last-minute bid for a judicial review of the council’s decision to fell the tree failed.

He has argued that it could be saved if the houses are underpinned, and that cutting it down could cause further structural problems.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the tree cannot be removed until the appeal request is properly considered.

Solicitor Richard Buxton, who is acting on behalf of Mr Brenner, said: "The Lord Justice considered that 'felling the tree now would be an irreversible step whereas the prejudice to the council in maintaining the injunction for a relatively short period is relatively minor'."