Plans are underway to convert the former Hare and Hounds pub in Deal into a residential property after years of struggle.
Deal: An old pub that had seen better days is about to get a new lease on life. The Hare and Hounds, which closed down after struggling for years, might soon be transformed into a cozy three-bedroom house.
Developers have put in a proposal to change the pub into a home, and they’re also looking to build three more houses on the land that used to be the pub’s car park. Sounds like a big change, right?
The pub had a rough time, with the last landlord, Roy O’Neill, calling it “the end of an era” when he shut the doors last year. It’s been empty ever since, and now a local developer, Matthew Lawrence, is hoping to breathe new life into the place.
In his application to the Dover District Council, he mentioned that the owner doesn’t think the pub can survive anymore. Apparently, the whole vibe for village pubs has shifted a lot, especially after the pandemic hit the hospitality scene hard.
It’s a bummer, but the previous owners had a tough time too. They tried everything to keep the pub running, even investing in renovations, but it just didn’t work out. They had five different tenants, but none could make it profitable, except for the last one.
Despite having a solid reputation for good food and decent reviews, the pub just couldn’t attract enough customers. O’Neill took over in July 2022, but faced licensing issues and ended up pouring over £64,000 into keeping it afloat.
Sadly, even with local support, it wasn’t enough to keep the doors open, and they had to close in January 2024. The building itself is in pretty bad shape, needing a lot of work to make it livable again.
It’s been on the market for a while now, but no one’s shown real interest in buying it as a pub. The first mention of it being a pub goes way back to 1740, when it was called The Horse and Hound. It even led the way in banning smoking indoors back in 2004!
