As we head into 2025 there’s going to be a few stories we think will dominate the headlines in the city.

Of course others will also emerge that we can’t predict but you can be certain some topics will never be far from Blog Preston and other media in the city over the next 12 months.

We take a look through some flashpoints, talking points and more likely to be featuring…

Read more: Eight areas of Preston due for a new look and major changes in next 12 months

A re-opening of the city centre

Of course Preston city centre is always open for business, but ‘Spring 2025’ appears to be the moment when a number of long-term projects complete.

From the Animate cinema and leisure complex next door to the current Market Hall, to the Harris finally re-opening its doors after a very protracted refurbishment, the new Youth Zone reaching its conclusion after more than a decade of being a political football between County and Town Halls and the Foxton’s new base for young people in Avenham being completed too.

There’s going to be something for all ages and tastes in the city centre to be a reason to come in for and spend time in the city centre.

Whether the city’s increasingly anti-car transport system and constantly changing bus options will withstand any increased influx of people remains to be seen. There’s also more bus lanes planned by County Hall…

Guild Hall repair bill becomes known

The city’s main venue has been mothballed since 2019, with only the foyer area currently acting as a temporary venue since it reopened as The Guild Lounge in Autumn last year.

Plans to reopen both the Grand Hall and Charter Theatre were snookered when RAAC (Reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete) was discovered in the roof of both venues – keeping them closed due to safety concerns.

Engineers finally went up and completed their inspections late in 2024 and it’s likely we’ll hear some kind of shrill alarm-type sound from the Town Hall when political chiefs and top mandarins have the repair bill land on their desk.

It will kick start a discussion about what should be done – and if there’s enough zeros on the repair bill, or a very lengthy timescale, then some kind of rebuild and borrow scheme for a new major venue has to come onto the cards.

In the meantime expect the chuntering over a lack of things to do in the city – despite the best efforts of many venues and promoters – to continue. Especially without the air cover of a huge BBC-backed festival taking place this year.

Troubled bridge over Ribble waters

Another structure which closed in 2019 was the Old Tram Bridge, deemed to be unsafe.

After back-and-forth over who owned the bridge then there was a rare moment of joined-up thinking and working from Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire councils to land funding for a new river crossing in the Levelling Up bid.

Work got underway in 2024 and it has not been easy – with the weather conditions already washing away part of engineers plans. And they have a ‘salmon window’ to work around too due to the River Ribble being a spawning ground for the fish.

But, by the end of this year, you’re due to be able to walk across a new Old Tram Bridge – a boost to walking and cycling in the city.

Read more: Work on Old Tram Bridge paused for winter with paths temporarily reopened

City’s boundary debate continues

The government has made it clear they see a future for unitary authorities in Lancashire. This is the set up which Blackpool and Blackburn have, one council which collects your bins, deals with education, roads and more.

At present then Preston, along with the likes of South Ribble, Wyre and Ribble Valley, are district councils with the major policy-setting and budgets like health, social care, education and transport operating through Lancashire County Council at county-wide level.

This two-tier system is set to be scrapped but there’s an almighty row continuing about the shape of how those new unitary authorities should look – because there will only be about three or four of the ‘super councils’ for the whole of Lancashire.

South Ribble and Chorley have given Preston the cold shoulder about any idea of a ‘Central Lancashire’ council with Preston the natural administrative and economic centre of that – while Garstang and Longridge are disgusted at the very idea of the concept. Expect to see plenty of positioning from politicians, councils and senior figures as whatever future there is for Town Halls is thrashed out.

Read more: Opinion: All Preston aren’t we? City’s boundary lines in sharp focus

All-out elections

And that political posturing will also continue to the ballot box, as it looks as though despite all the uncertainty about the shape of councils to come then a big election to decide who controls Lancashire County Council will take place.

The all-out election means all the Preston and surrounding area seats will be up for grabs and the currently Conservative-controlled County Hall may change hands if the general election pattern for Lancashire is repeated.

That would change dynamics in what is at present an increasingly frosty relationship between the Town Hall and County Hall in the heart of Preston.

A new name for the university

Just before Christmas the go-ahead was given to the city’s university to change its name. The latest incarnation will be the University of Lancashire instead of the University of Central Lancashire.

The university has been under severe financial pressure throughout the last 12-months and may continue to be so as the battle for international students, who bring in much higher tuition fees, becomes ever more intense.

Whether the name change has any bearing on how the university seeks to develop its Preston-based campus and courses remains to be seen. It is one of the largest land owners, building operators and players within the city.

A burning desire to see city’s heritage preserved

While lots of new buildings may open in the city there’s increasing frustration at the lack of action for some of the city’s heritage buildings.

The city council has vowed to ‘get tough’ in the wake of the embers of the Church Street and St Joseph’s fires which ripped through the city during early November last year.

But there are dozens and dozens of listed or older buildings in the city standing empty and in an ever-decaying state.

There’s a new group set up to campaign for action to happen, and while they may not have significant investment behind them it will be interesting to see where people power gets to in the city in the months ahead.

What do you think will be the key things happening in Preston this year? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below

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