A historic pub dubbed a ‘lifeline’ for the community has reopened after locals begged for its return.

Hampton residents said they “sorely missed” The World’s End, on Station Road, when it was forced to temporarily close after its licence expired.

Richmond Council’s licensing committee decided to grant the pub a new licence after an application from landlord Glenn Rumsey and hearing on June 5.

A council report said the pub’s previous licence lapsed after the licensee company went into administration and the “licence was not transferred into Mr Rumsey’s name within the statutory timeframe”.

A now-published decision from the committee said “considerable representations” were submitted in support of the application, which offered reduced hours and 11 extra conditions to “resolve the concerns” raised by objectors.

It added: “The objector who had attended the meeting was satisfied with these additional conditions as meeting residents’ concerns provided these were formally put in place and adhered to.”

A total of 14 letters were sent in support of the application ahead of the meeting. One neighbour said she almost became a recluse after her daughter’s father died three years ago, but found a support network at the pub which made her “feel so welcome”. She said the pub has a “strong community vibe and it is currently being sorely missed”.

The mum wrote: “It has encouraged lots of other local mothers to use it as a meeting point. As everyone is aware of just how friendly and kind everyone is there.”

She said she does not “hear a peep from the pub unless it’s an event night and when that happens it’s closed at a reasonable time with plenty of prior notice and the pubgoers are ushered along the road and away”.

Another neighbour said the pub has become her “second home” to meet friends, and punters “desperately need” it back. Granting the licence, she said, would “put an end to the miserable weeks that these have been for us all” with it shut.

She added: “Trouble and nuisance caused by the establishment, which is managed to the highest level of professionalism and integrity, is non-existent”.

Another supporter described the pub as a “lifeline to myself and many others of all ages”.

But four objections to the application, which originally applied to sell booze as late as 11.30pm, were also submitted. One objector said residents on nearby Warfield Road had “serious concerns”. She said residents had previously “suffered from excessive noise in the evenings” due to music in the beer garden which had “kept people awake”.

She added: “To extend the hours would put an intolerable burden on the residents, especially during the summer months. There has also been bad behaviour late at night from people leaving the pub.”

Another local asked for the pub to close at 11pm “in line with other businesses in the vicinity and the fact that this is a quiet, residential area with many families with young children”.

At the hearing on June 5, licensing consultant Chris Lucan, agent for the application, said The World’s End had sat on the site for hundreds of years. He said the application offered extra conditions, on top of those already agreed, to address any potential noise issues.

Conditions include the garden not being used after 10pm on Mondays and Saturdays, and 9.30pm on Sundays and the licence holder operating the pub “with general consideration in respect of the surrounding areas, neighbours and businesses”. A letter to residents from the pub also said no music would be allowed in the garden after 8pm.

Mr Lucan said: “The significant merits of this application is that the pub has existed successfully since time immemorial, the hours requested have been reduced and the application has been further amended at the behest of the police and other responsible authorities.”

The consultant said there used to be a hedge bordering the pub’s beer garden, which helped to alleviate noise, but it was removed due to a neighbour’s request.

He added: “There is not a shred of evidence in the representations before you today that challenges or in any way criticises the operating schedule itself in its current amended format. There’s also no recorded history of disorder or noise complaints.”

Sue Clark, speaking on behalf of residents on Warfield Road, said: “It is a quiet road, there are children living in the road and we were concerned about the noise primarily emanating from the pub, from the music in the garden, and if indeed the points have been addressed, that they will close the garden at 10pm and that they will cease all music at 8pm, then I think that will satisfy a lot of the noise complaint.”

The pub can sell booze from 11am to 11pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and 12pm to 10.30pm on Sundays, under the licence.