Cheers all round as village gets pub back

A Surrey village has celebrated the return of its local pub.

Wood Street Village near Guildford had lost both of its boozers in recent years, which sparked plans for a community pub.

However, a new landlord Jeremy Gordeno has reopened the White Hart after it having been shut for almost two years.

Richard, who lives next door to the venue, told BBC Radio Surrey the pub had been "awfully missed", adding: "It's been a sad sight with all the windows boarded up and the concrete barriers outside."

He added it would have been too expensive for the community to create a community pub in the village.

"I am dying for a pint so can I leave you," Richard said to the BBC at the White Hart's reopening on Thursday.

Rod, one of the first customers at the event, added that pubs were "very important" for the community in the village.

"We have made it our mission to engage," he said.

"The pub is where we met people and found connections."

Approximately two British pubs closed a day in the first quarter of 2026, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.

It detailed that 161 pubs closed in the first three months of this year across England, Scotland and Wales, equating to the loss of around 2,400 jobs.

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