Village pub closer to reopening after licence approval

The licence application for The Fox Inn, in Stockton on the Forest, was approved

A village pub is one step closer to reopening after its licence application was approved by councillors.

The Fox Inn, in Stockton on the Forest, near York, has been closed since August 2024, but was bought by villagers Kate Starkey and Philippa Myers earlier this year.

Ms Myers told City of York Council's planning committee the application came with "an outpouring of support from locals" and that approval would reopen a much-missed community hub.

"We want to bring back something that's been of great value to the community ever since it opened in 1866, it's what our little village deserves," she said.

The decision comes after councillors designated the pub an asset of community value last month following an application from York's Campaign for Real Ale branch.

The status is granted to spaces which are deemed to support the social wellbeing and interests of communities including through recreation, culture and sports.

Under the new licence the pub would be open between 10:00 and 23:30 from Tuesday to Thursday and between 10:00 and 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays

The application stated the venue would be fully refurbished ahead of opening, and would offer food, with space to seat around 50 patrons indoors.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the beer garden will initially remain closed, but the applicants hope to eventually bring it back into use.

Ms Myers and Ms Starkey agreed to change the pub's weekday opening hours after seven objections were lodged from its neighbours over late night noise concerns.

Ms Myers said an experienced leaseholder would run The Fox Inn and they were all aiming to restore the pub's good name and alleviate neighbours' concerns.

"Getting just seven objections is reassuring, we don't want people falling out of the doors at 3am," she added.

No objections were lodged by North Yorkshire Police and the applicants agreed to measures including installing colour CCTV following discussions with the force.

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