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Surbiton, London — May 9, 2025 — A landmark pub in south-west London will close this Sunday for a £350,000 refurbishment and a fresh identity. The Fox and Hounds in Surbiton is set to reopen in November as The Surbiton Fox, and the incoming operators are asking Kingston Council to allow alcohol to be served in its parking lot during occasional events.
The project is being delivered by Star Pubs, the leased-pub business of Heineken UK. It covers a name change and a licensing variation that would extend the venue’s licensed area to its parking lot and outbuildings. The extra spaces would be used from time to time for community activities, with alcohol sales ending at 10pm.
The move comes as Heineken invests heavily in its UK estate. Earlier this year, the brewer said it would spend more than £44 million upgrading hundreds of pubs across the country. The Surbiton site is one of several projects designed to turn older locals into meeting places with more flexible outdoor space.
At the licensing hearing on Tuesday, incoming operators Paul Reynolds and William Walters told the committee they intended to make the pub a genuine neighbourhood destination. The pair will take over after the renovation is complete.
“We want to embed ourselves in the community and get to know everyone because it will be the longstanding success of the pub,” Reynolds said. “It’s reliant on us knowing our neighbours and having good relationships with them.”
The Fox and Hounds already has a garden and other outdoor seating. What is new is the request to include the parking lot and adjacent outbuildings in the licensed premises on a flexible basis. The applicants stressed that the spaces would not become permanent drinking areas, and any external events would be run with clear management controls.
Solicitor George Domleo, representing Star Pubs, told the hearing that the company had revised its original application after talking with local people. He described the proposal as limited and evidence-led.
“This is a limited, responsible and evidence-led proposal,” Domleo said. “It is supported by experienced operators, there is a substantial investment, practical management controls and a firm 10pm terminal hour for external alcohol sales.”
Domleo added that the refurbished pub would create 18 jobs and restore the property as a “high-quality community pub.”
Six objections have been filed by residents, mostly over the risk of late-night noise from customers in the parking lot. Objectors are not against the pub upgrading, but they want the extra licence to be tightly restricted.
Local resident John Gibbard told the hearing that he welcomes the investment and wants the pub to remain viable. However, he asked for provisions that would require customers to leave the proposed additional areas by 10pm and would limit how often events could be held.
“Those safeguards would not interfere with the £350,000 refurbishment, the garden areas or the normal operation of the pub,” Gibbard said. “They simply ensure that a variation sought for a limited purpose cannot gradually become something materially broader without further scrutiny from this committee.”
Reynolds rejected the suggestion that the new team would be difficult for neighbours. He said he and Walters were responsible operators who would “respect our neighbours” when they take over in the autumn.
The pub’s current permission allows indoor alcohol sales from noon to 11pm on Sundays through Wednesdays, and from noon to midnight on Thursdays through Saturdays. The new request would not change those core hours; it would only add occasional outdoor coverage for events.
Kingston Council’s licensing sub-committee is expected to announce its decision in the coming days. The ruling will determine whether the pub can go ahead with the full plan, or whether the applicant must return with a narrower proposal.
Beyond Surbiton, the outcome could become a reference point for other pub operators trying to use parking areas and yards for temporary events. Trade observers in the hospitality sector are watching the case because it tests the line between flexibility and neighbour protection.
The refurbishment itself is tied to a wider trend. Many UK pubs are no longer just bars; they are becoming venues for family daytime trade, small events and outdoor dining. Heineken, through Star Pubs, has been among the largest investors in this shift.
If the Surbiton Fox licence is approved with the kind of conditions residents have suggested, it could provide a template for similar applications in dense suburban areas. If it is rejected or heavily reduced, it may remind operators that parking-lot events are still a sensitive issue for many communities.
Either way, the pub is unlikely to lose its role as a well-known landmark. The closing date this Sunday marks the end of its current chapter, but the name change and investment signal a clear attempt to secure its future for the next generation of drinkers and families.
