A Kingston pub is set to temporarily shut for a £350,000 investment to put it at the heart of the community.

The Fox and Hounds, in Surbiton, is due to close in the coming days before reopening to the public in November under fresh operators and a new name.

New operators Paul Reynolds and William Walters said they wanted the pub to be at the heart of the community at Kingston Council's licensing hearing on Tuesday (September 22).

Mr 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.

"It's reliant on us knowing our neighbours and having good relationships with them."

The pub's last official trading day under current management is Sunday (September 27).

The meeting was held after Star Pubs, the pub arm of Heineken UK, applied to change the name of the venue from The Fox and Hounds to The Surbiton Fox and extend the area where drinking is allowed.

The hearing was told the pub wanted permission to sell alcohol until 10pm in the venue's car park and outbuildings, on top of its established outdoor areas, for occasional events and community activities.

The application received six objections from residents, who raised concerns about being disturbed by noise from customers.

Resident John Gibbard said he supported the refurbishment and continued operation of the pub, but wanted conditions on the licence requiring customers to leave the proposed extra areas for drinking by 10pm and a limit on the frequency of events held there.

Mr 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."

Solicitor George Domleo, representing Star Pubs, said the venue had revised its original application to address residents' concerns, and it combined "effectively practical operational flexibility with clear safeguards for the licensing objectives".

He said the project would "create 18 jobs and bring the premises back into use as a high-quality community pub".

Mr Domleo said the extra areas where drinking alcohol would be allowed, if the application was approved, would not become permanent drinking spaces and the pub would be run responsibly.

He added: "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."

Mr Reynolds added they were "responsible operators and we do respect our neighbours".

The pub 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.

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