A LANDLORD is facing a bill of more than £2,000 after an old beech tree in the grounds of his York pub had to be felled.

The costs – which include £330 from City of York Council for a road closure order – have shocked Kevin Flintoft, who runs the Walnut Tree in Heworth Village.

He said the authority, which had ordered him to have the tree felled because it was diseased, had refused to waive its fee for the road closure.

And the company which owns the pub, Enterprise Inns, had told him it was his responsibility under the terms of his tenancy to foot the bill.

Mr Flintoft said such costs were a big blow at a time when times in the pub trade were already hard.

“I said to the council: ‘Where am I going to get up to £2,400 from?’ I have had to take it out of my cash flow, but I’ll have to see where it leaves me.”

He said he had been quoted up to £4,000 by tree surgeons to fell the 150-year-old beech, before eventually settling on one of the best offers, from Tony Castle, who spent all of Monday felling the tree.

The landlord said he now had concerns about the effect of the loss of the beech on surrounding trees. He also said he wanted to warn other landlords how they too could be left out of pocket if they had trees in their gardens.

A council spokeswoman said the tree had been attacked by a bracket fungus, meripilus giganteus – also known as the giant polypore – of a type known to be a common cause of death in mature beech trees.

“It is considered very serious and dangerous when in an urban environment,” she said. “When the fruiting body appears, it is a sign that the fungus is very well established and the tree could start to become unstable if it is not so already.

“Often the beech tree will look in good health right until the end, as the fungus destroys the deeper structural roots, leaving the shallower roots healthy and intact.”

She said that although Heworth Village was in a conservation area, the beech tree met the “dying/dangerous criteria” for exemption from requiring planning consent for removal.

“The council’s conservation team informed the manager of the pub that the tree should be removed at their earliest convenience in the interests of highway safety,” she said. “The standard charge for a non-emergency highway closure is £330.”

She added the council would be seeking the planting of a replacement tree.