The Fox and Hounds pub in Surbiton is set to close for a £350,000 refurbishment and will reopen in November under new operators and a new name, The Surbiton Fox, according to a licensing hearing held by Kingston Council on Tuesday, September 22.
New operators Paul Reynolds and William Walters told the council they aim to make the pub a central part of the local community. Reynolds said, "When myself and Will started thinking about... what is a pub in the modern age, we came back to the idea of community is the key asset, really, and it's something that we feel so strongly about - that we want to embed ourselves in the community and get to know everyone because it will be the longstanding success of the pub."
The pub's last official trading day under current management is Sunday, September 27. The application to change the name and extend drinking areas was submitted by Star Pubs, the pub arm of Heineken UK.
Proposed changes and community concerns
Star Pubs applied to rename the venue from The Fox and Hounds to The Surbiton Fox and to extend the area where drinking is allowed. The hearing was told the pub wanted permission to sell alcohol until 10pm in the car park and outbuildings, in addition to its existing outdoor areas, for occasional events and community activities.
The application received six objections from residents, who raised concerns about noise disturbance from customers. Resident John Gibbard said he supported the refurbishment and continued operation of the pub but wanted conditions requiring customers to leave the proposed extra drinking areas by 10pm and a limit on the frequency of events.
Gibbard said, "Those safeguards would not interfere with the £350,000 refurbishment, the garden areas or the normal operation of the pub. They simply ensure that a variation sought for a limited purpose cannot gradually become something materially broader without further scrutiny from this committee."
Revised application and job creation
Solicitor George Domleo, representing Star Pubs, said the venue had revised its original application to address residents' concerns. He described the plan as combining "effectively practical operational flexibility with clear safeguards for the licensing objectives."
Domleo said the project would "create 18 jobs and bring the premises back into use as a high-quality community pub." He added that the extra drinking areas would not become permanent spaces and the pub would be run responsibly.
He stated, "This is a limited, responsible and evidence-led proposal. It is supported by experienced operators, there is a substantial investment, practical management controls and a firm 10pm terminal hour for external alcohol sales."
Reynolds added that they were "responsible operators and we do respect our neighbours."
Licensing conditions and next steps
The pub currently has permission to sell alcohol indoors from 12pm to 11pm on Sundays to Wednesdays, and from 12pm to midnight on Thursdays to Saturdays. The committee will publish its decision on the plans in the coming days.
More details on the pub's reopening will be revealed in due course.
