A Kingston brewery has won permission to open a restaurant and taproom close to Richmond Park, in a bid to give the neighbourhood more of a "villagey feel".

Park Brew and Kitchen on Park Road will serve food including brunch, along with booze, after being granted a licence by Kingston Council.

The council's licensing committee ruled the venue was not expected to add to any issues in the area, as it was "unlikely to engage in binge drinking" or "operate other than for microbrewery sales and a small food operation". 

It comes after local couple Josh and Frankie Kearns, founders of Kingston-based The Park Brewery, discussed their plans for the new venue at a licensing hearing on October 3.

Mr Kearns said the venue would be a "community destination for people to get some really great food" with the option of selling booze, and that making sure it did not negatively impact locals would be at the top of their agenda. 

He said: "It is a destination for food so we'll be serving breakfast, brunch and small plate dinner, and there will always be a substantial amount of food available during the hours."

Mr Kearns said the venue would be insulated to minimise any noise, its windows did not open and it would be served by commercial waste collections twice a week.

He said they planned to create a small outdoor seating area which could be used until 10pm, with no customers allowed outside after this point, and the furniture would be taken inside at the end of every night.

Ms Kearns added: "We're very familiar with the area and we think it's actually going to be [a] hugely valuable asset and a great thing for the community and that's the feedback we're receiving a lot from neighbours and people in the area who are quite excited about it.

"We will respect it and we will look after this place and consider our neighbours because we're here too and we love it here, so we know that it's a quiet area, but we see that there's a real opportunity here to create more of a villagey feel which we think we're lacking."

But neighbours raised concerns about the plans at the meeting. Local Jackie Hird said: "I don't think it's going to be quiet with people sitting outside and our children are in a critical stage in their education and we are concerned about the noise."

She added: "After 6.30pm anyone can park and we understand we don't have the right to park, but that's a lot of cars potentially coming and going when there's children – it's a residential area, a lot of schools in the area, a lot of children so we're concerned about the safety of the extra traffic as well as the noise."

Responding to the concerns raised, Ms Kearns said the venue was aimed at locals so many customers would walk there rather than drive.

Mr Kearns added that only around 35 people would be able to fit into the venue at any given time.

In a report on the decision, the committee said conditions on the licence addressed concerns raised by residents.

It said the outside area was small but the pavement and junction of Elm Road and Park Road "were not as limited as portrayed". The committee added the safety of the junction was a planning or highways matter, rather than licensing.

Conditions on the licence include the venue having CCTV, an incident log book and staff training.

The venue has permission to open from 8am to 11pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 11am to 10pm on Mondays and Sundays. It can sell booze for consumption on and off the premises from 11am to 11pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 11am to 10pm on Sundays and Mondays.