Kingston residents fighting to reopen an empty pub say they want to buy the venue and get stopped in the street by old punters asking about its future. The Cricketers on Fairfield South in Kingston was sold in 2017 for roughly £1.4 million but has been shut since 2019.

Punters and residents set up the Cricketers Kingston Community Association (CKCA) in 2018 amid fears for the pub's future after new owner Mosab Alkubaisy submitted plans to allow the venue to include a restaurant. The application was withdrawn and the pub reopened in December of that year after works.

But CKCA claims the pub was operated differently under the new ownership after reopening.

Ciaran O'Keeffe, one of CKCA's founders, managed the pub for four years from 2014 until the previous tenancy's end in October 2018 and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it "was a thriving pub". But he claimed changes brought in after the reopening left sone long-term regulars "disgruntled".

Mr O'Keeffe said the pub went on the market in 2019 for £1.675 million. He said CKCA approached Mr Alkubaisy for a potential leasehold agreement and the proposed figure was £77,500 a year plus VAT – compared to £48,000 when he managed the pub. The pub closed in December 2019.

Mr Alkubaisy submitted plans to change the venue's use to include a four-bedroom home in June 2021, which were challenged by the Kingston and Leatherhead branch of CAMRA. A council report says the applicant "seeks to argue that the existing business is not viable and that there is no demand for a public house in this location due to various site and economic constraints".

But the plans were thrown out in January 2022 after the council ruled the applicant hadn't provided enough evidence to show there was no demand for the pub or that it had been marketed for community use without success.

Nick Markham (left) and Ciaran O\'Keeffe (right) outside The Cricketers on 20 Fairfield South, Kingston. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS

Mr Alkubaisy has submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and written representations were made at the end of 2022.

CKCA won a bid in April 2022 to have the venue recognised as an asset of community value – giving the community a chance to bid for it. Mr O'Keeffe said: "They don't have to accept our offer but if we said we want to raise the funds for it then we get six months where they can't sell it to anyone else."

The group is now waiting for the planning inspector's decision on Mr Alkubaisy's appeal. CKCA wants an independent evaluation of the venue to present to the council and buy it for the community, rent it out and reopen it as a pub.

Mr Markham said: "We can drum up that support and more at the drop of a hat, that's how passionate people are. We're always getting stopped in the street – people asking us how's it going."

Mr O'Keeffe added: "With all of this interest in the pub, and being that it's got an asset of community value now, the community would be in a position to purchase it if it was at the right price." 

Mr Alkubaisy's agent for the appeal has not responded to multiple requests for comment at the time of publication.