'Sloaney Pony' Gets Permission for Outside Bar
White Horse licence granted despite opposition from some neighbours
The garden area of the White Horse in Parsons Green
December 12, 2025
A popular local pub has been granted a new licence which allows it to open an outside bar.
The White Horse, which sits on the corner of Parsons Green towards the Tube station, already has a licence allowing it to sell alcohol until midnight, or 12.30am on Friday and Saturday. The new application largely mirrors that already in-place but includes two key additions: some changes to the layout of the pub and an additional bar outside by the external seating.
Concerns were aired about the potential impacts on public nuisance if the proposed outside bar was installed as planned.
But, at a Licensing Sub-Committee meeting earlier this week Hammersmith and Fulham councillors voted to approve the application in full. Mitchells and Butlers, which owns the premises, was approached for comment.
The White Horse, otherwise known as ‘The Sloaney Pony, is a historic pub which has over the years been recognised on a number of occasions by the national press. The council’s officer report included in the meeting pack described it as a “well-established pub of long standing”, for which a licence already exists.
Rather than apply to amend the current licence the applicant, Mitchells and Butlers Leisure Limited, had requested a new one be granted with the additional bar and internal layouts included.
According to a submission by the applicant, “a new licence application is ‘cleaner’ and allows us to have the flexibility to propose and agree new conditions, and indeed for residents and responsible authorities to comment about the entirety of the application rather than just that which is being varied, as they have of course done”.
Three objections were filed with the council during consultation including from the local authority’s Noise Team.
Christopher Sibanda, Environment Protection Nuisance Investigator, wrote the team were opposed to the external bar element of the application for reasons including the impact on nearby residents and concerns about amplified music and the lack of a management plan.
This objection was later withdrawn after the applicant submitted a management plan for the proposal.
Representatives of the Barclay Road Residents Association and the Walham Green Ward Panel, which neighbours Parsons Green, also wrote in to note their concerns about the outside bar. Describing themselves as a customer of the pub, the ward panel representative wrote the additional bar “will encourage even more customers to the pub and to drink outside”.
“The residents who live on all three sides of Parsons Green will be subjected to increased noise from drinkers, from people shouting, laughing and talking loudly as they walk down Parsons Green and Parsons Green Lane on their way home. This isn’t conducive to the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the protection of children from harm as they sleep in their beds.”
Speaking to sub-committee members, Charlotte Dexter, of the Barclay Road Residents Association but also speaking on behalf of the Walham Green Ward Panel, said she remained concerned about the proposed sale of alcohol outside.
“A bar suddenly is going to be there where people can stand, people can crowd, people can congregate, and we’re not convinced enough that care can be taken on very busy nights and during days and so on.”
Andy Grimsey, a Senior Associate Solicitor at Poppleston Allen representing the applicant, said the premises has proven it is a responsible operator and that it will have a range of mitigations in-place to prevent issues occurring.
On the reasoning for the bar, he said: “We want an outside bar because we think it makes commercial sense to us, but it also will ease congestion on the inside bar. It will reduce crowding, potential conflict, people coming in and out, waiting at one bar at busy times when there may be two.”
Cllr Dominic Stanton quizzed the applicant on the proposed layout of the new bar and outdoor area, while the potential marketing and management of the space was raised by Cllr Bora Kwon.
She was told the nature of the outdoor area would not change if the application was approved, and that it would not be used to target events such as sports games.
Changes made over the years to the way the outdoor space operates, such as removing the permission for customers to drink on the wall of the garden, were also noted, which were claimed to have improved the running of the pub.
When summing up Ms Dexter warned that while the current operator of The White Horse is responsible there is a lot of trust involved in the awarding of a new licence, and that at other premises things have on occasion gone “belly-up”.
Following a deliberation, sub-committee members agreed to approve the application in-full.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter