The Kings Head on Quarry Street wants customers outside until 12.30am, not midnight, with a new balcony and seating area. Comments close on 23 October.

The Kings Head on Quarry Street has applied to let customers use its outside areas for half an hour longer each night. The pub’s premises licence holder wants to change one condition on its licence, and Guildford Borough Council is taking comments until Friday 23 October (Guildford Borough Council).

The application changes nothing else. No new licensable hours are requested for alcohol, music or late-night refreshment, and the form proposes removing no existing conditions.

What the pub is asking for

Condition H1 of the licence, number GUPLA0329, currently reads:

“Customers shall not be permitted to use any external part of the premises, e.g. outside drinking areas, for any purposes after 00:00 hours (midnight), including the consumption of alcohol, except for the designated smoking area”.

The application asks to change that time to “12:30 hours”. Read against the midnight limit it replaces, that means half past midnight (application form).

The plan attached to the application marks three outside areas (plan):

  • the existing smoking area named in the current condition
  • a proposed “outside seating area”
  • a proposed “balcony” area

The reason given

The pub says the change is about how people leave, not about drinking later. The form says the later time “would facilitate the proposal for customers to exit the premises from the side/rear of the establishment, thereby abating any nuisance caused to neighbours in Quarry Street.”

The rear gate would be used to encourage customers to leave into Castle Street instead.

The application leaves the four boxes for extra steps on crime, public safety, nuisance and children blank. It records the pub’s rateable value as £96,500.

The building

The Kings Head stands at 52 Quarry Street, on the corner with Castle Street. It has been Grade II listed since January 1972 (Historic England, list entry 1294062).

The pub’s own argument is that Quarry Street neighbours would hear less if late customers left by the back. Whether Castle Street residents agree is the question the comment period will test.

What it means for you

If you live near the pub, on Quarry Street or Castle Street, this is your chance to comment:

  • Deadline: Friday 23 October 2026. Comments that arrive after the council’s office closes to the public that day are not accepted.
  • How: email regulatoryservices@guildford.gov.uk, or write to the licensing team at Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford, GU2 4BB.
  • What counts: comments must relate to the four licensing objectives: preventing crime and disorder, public safety, preventing public nuisance and protecting children from harm.
  • Be aware: if you make a valid comment, your name and address become part of the public record if a hearing is needed.

If valid objections are received, a Licensing Sub-Committee hears the application, and everyone who commented is invited. Copies of the full application can also be viewed at Millmead House.

Other licence applications for Guildford premises are on the same council page, including a full variation for Zara Kebab on Park Street, with comments due by 13 October.