News / Bristol24/7
Bristol24/7’s most-read stories of 2025
Bristol’s passion to express and voice opinions stood out in 2025, with two opinion pieces making it to this year’s list of most-read stories.
Also in the mix were stories on our city’s coolest neighbourhood according to Time Out, businesses boycotting a brewery, a restaurant being awarded a much-deserved Michelin star and residents’ woes about the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood.
Scroll through to read the 20 most-read stories of the last 12 months:
1. ‘The University of Bristol has embarked on a path like a death spiral’
Words by three members of Bristol UCU, expressing fears about the University of Bristol’s future financial plans, garnered the most attention in 2025. Among the backdrop of Cardiff University announcing redundancies, the academics questioned the university’s plans to cut down low-income generating schools, arguing that the income they generate cannot be easily replaced.
2026 will be a big year for the University of Bristol when they open a new camous – photo: Martin Booth
2. Bristol neighbourhood named one of the UK’s coolest
When Bristol is celebrated in any capacity at a national or international level, our city loves it. In a proud moment for Cotham residents, their neighbourhood was named one of the country’s coolest on a list published by Time Out.
Cotahm was named the fifth coolest neighbourhood in the country – photo: Milan Perera
3. Businesses boycott brewery following founder’s ‘insulting’ statement
Bristol has come out in support of Palestine numerous times throughout the year. It was no surprise when several businesses decided to boycott Moor Beer after the brewery’s founder criticised the pro-Palestinian sentiment at Glastonbury Festival. Towards the end of the year, the brewery has now been saved from administration.
Moor Beer’s brewery is located on Days Road – photo: Polly Allen
4. ‘Decisions like those made by Cycling UK only add fuel to hatred’
Rosie Wilson’s words in solidarity with the trans community, criticising Cycling UK’s decision to exclude trans women from their women in cycling list for 2025, quickly made it to the top of this year’s most-read stories on bristol247.com The founder of Lunar Cycles was one of those to be named on the list of 100 women but explains her decision to decline the accolade and explains the basis for that decision.
Rosie Wilson is the founder of Lunar Cycles, a queer and trans-run cycle club for women, non-binary and trans people – photo: Lunar Cycles
5. Annunziata Rees-Mogg says Bristol ‘feels like a city that has given up’
The sorry state of Broadmead did not escape Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the sister of former cabinet minister Jacob, on her recent visit to Bristol. The former Brexit Party MEP criticised the area’s broken ticket machines, closed and closing shops and more.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – photo: Martin Booth
6. School permanently closes after 50 years
Bristol Waldorf School, known for its alternative education curriculum, has closed its doors permanently after half a century. Declining student numbers and financial struggles are said to have led to the unfortunate decision. The school on Redland Hill was modelled on the Waldorf or Steiner education method, which Ofsted inspectors blamed for creating gaps in children’s knowledge.
Bristol Waldorf School on Redland Hill closed permanently on December 17
7. Families left ‘stranded’ at Bristol Airport by rogue parking operators
Parking nightmares of several people around Bristol Airport have come forward. Families say they were left stranded at the airport and only gained access to their vehicles after several hours. Police have also found instances of some car parks with no staff, insecure vehicles and a caravan being used as an office.
The police found a caravan being used an office at one of the car parks near Bristol Airport – photo: Avon and Somerset Police
8. Bristol bakery named among nation’s finest
No stranger to such accolades, Farro in St Paul’s made it to another list celebrating the country’s finest. If Bristol’s baking stars are aligned, Farro could open a second, bigger premises in the new year, along with retaining its first.
Farro was also the most recommended place in Bristol24/7’s EatDrink24/7 2025 guide – photo: Martin Booth
9. Caravan club closes before site redeveloped for homes
The Caravan & Motorhome’s Baltic Wharf Club closed in June to make way for hundreds of new flats. Trees in the area were also felled later in October, despite much opposition, including dozens of women marrying the trees in a mock wedding.
Because the land on Spike Island was previously a timber yard, the caravan park is considered to be a brownfield site – photo: Martin Booth
10. Hargreaves Lansdown to relocate to new headquarters
Currently located in a building just off Anchor Road, Hargreaves Landsdown are due to move to a new site in Temple Quay. They will take on three floors of the Welcome Building, spanning 90,000 sq ft.
Spread across nine floors, the Welcome Building has Bristol’s largest floor-plates – photo: Welcome Building
11. Bristol has a new fully pedestrianised stretch of road
While motorists might not fully approve, the bottom part of Overton Road was fully pedestrianised in August. As well as being fully closed to cars, the stretch of the road now has planters, benches and cycle stands.
The bottom part of Overton Road is now fully pedestrianised – photo: Martin Booth
12. Toy shop to close after more than two decades
A treasure trove of toys, books, board games and more, Playfull Toys will permanently close at the end of the year. Having first started in the early 2000’s, the shop has become a well-known fixture on Gloucester Road.
Playfull Toyshop was home to gifts, toys, books and more, that the owners brought in from across Europe – photo: Karen Johnson
13. Fraudster creates fake identity to steal £50,000 from heritage railway
A former employee at Avon Valley Railway scammed the charity of about £50,000. It was later revealed that the employee was, in fact, a serial fraudster who had been living under a false name and was wanted by Humberside Police since January.
The fraudster was a former employee at the heritage railway station – photo: Avon Valley Railway
14. ‘Locked in and blocked in’ by liveable neighbourhood
The East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme has been the subject of widespread criticism ever since the trial was implemented. But many people are still unhappy about the announcement at the end of this year that numerous changes will be made to it including the removal of a bus gate in Barton Hill, saying that the Green-led administration should stick to their guns.
Some planters and bollards in the EBLN area could soon be replaced with cameras – photo: Betty Woolerton
15. ‘Phased closure’ of shopping centre ahead of redevelopment
With numerous impending developments, Bristol’s skyline might look very different in a few years. Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle will be replaced with flats as part of the Redcatch Quarter development. Closed shops, leaky roofs and a general gloom now fill the air of the shopping centre, which originally opened in 1974.
Leaks at Broadwalk Shopping Centre are likely to never be fixed – photo: Martin Booth
16. Major search operation in Cumberland Basin
All the water from Cumberland Basin was drained for a large-scale search operation. The operation in March was initiated after a lone man was seen entering the docks on CCTV the previous evening.
Inflatable boats, horses, drones and more were part of the large-scale search operation in March – photo: Martin Booth
17. Rapidly expanding bar group buys brewery
Good Chemistry is now formally a part of World Famous Dive Bars. The former brewery’s owners, Kelly Sidgwick and Bob Cary, continue to remain custodians of their two pubs – the Good Measure in Redland and the King’s Head on Victoria Street.
World Famous Dive Bars are now the new owners of Good Chemistry, which was founded in 2015 – photo: World Famous Dive Bars
18. Big brown boxes blight Broadmead
In more woes for Broadmead, a few big brown boxes showed up in the area in August. Quickly likened to toilets, they in fact serve as cell site masts to improve mobile phone signal coverage in the area.
One of the brown boxes showed up near the former Debenhams building in Broadmead – photo: Martin Booth
19. Where in Bristol have the most flags been reported?
In 2025, Bristol and other places in the country saw a surge in far-right voices and the use of St George and Union Jack flags as a symbol of anti-immigration protests. There were 75 reports of flags on FixMyStreet in early September. Hoisted on lamp posts, painted on roads or hanging from windows of residential homes, the flags started showing up in different areas of the city, with the highest number of reports coming in from Bishopsworth as of September 5.
Union Jack and St George flags have been spotted hanging from windows across the city – photo: Susie Long
20. Bristol restaurant awarded first Michelin star
Wilson’s on Chandos Road was awarded a Michelin star in February. After Paco Tapas lost its Michelin star in 2024 and later announced closure, Bulrush was the only remaining restaurant to hold the accolade in Bristol. However, with Bulrush retaining its star in 2025 and Wilson’s joining it, our city once again has two Michelin-starred restaurants.
Wilson’s on Chandos Road is run by husband and wife team, Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson – photo: Emli Bendixen
Main photo: Martin Booth
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