What's happening in Gloucestershire in 2025?

Underwater testing will begin later this year

From a new university campus to a £107m city centre revamp, 2025 is going to be a year of transformative projects for Gloucestershire.

As the county hits the quarter of the century mark, developers, political leaders and local communities are pushing forward with multi-million pound schemes.

Here's a little taste of what we can expect to see over the coming 12 months:

The Forum

The Forum is one of Gloucester's flagship regeneration schemes

It is one of Gloucestershire's flagship regeneration projects and later on this month Fasthosts will become the first business to move in to The Forum in Kings Quarter.

The £107m development, which includes offices, retail space, restaurants and the city's only four-star hotel, will open in phases over the coming year.

The Forum is part of a wider £200m regeneration of the city centre, and will bring an estimated 1,500 jobs to Gloucester.

DEEP

New technology could help extend the time scientists can spend underwater

Works will be continuing apace in Tideham in the Forest of Dean, where scientists hope to test whether people can live 200m (656ft) underwater.

DEEP, an ocean technology and exploration company, has invested £100m in the former National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) where it wants to submerge and test an underwater pod big enough for a crew of six.

The firm say the technology could be used for hosting data centres at the bottom of the ocean as it would be an efficient way of keeping them cool.

Fromebridge Wetlands

The new wetland will be home to a number of animals and insects

Called the Fromebridge Biodiversity Project, the brand-new wetlands zone sits just off the A38 near Whitminster.

The site, which spans seven football pitches, will be home to migrating birds and water voles when completed by the end of the year.

The scheme includes a bird hide and the creation of accessible paths to encourage visitors.

It will also be the first step in reinstating the final stretch of the Stroudwater Canal between Fromebridge and Saul Junction.

The scheme is being run by Cotswold Canals Connected (CCC), a partnership between Stroud District Council and Cotswold Canals Trust.

City Campus

The University of Gloucestershire is transforming the former Debenhams store in the city centre

Up to 1,000 students will be descending on Gloucester in September, when the new University of Gloucestershire City Campus opens in the former Debenhams store.

The site will initially be home to education, psychology and social work students, and will include a public library, an arts, health and wellbeing centre and a student union.

More than 250 sets of human remains were uncovered during the works, with some dating back 1,000 years.

Gloucestershire Airport

The airport is mainly used for private flights, training and clubs

The future of Gloucestershire Airport will be decided in 2025, after it was put on the market last year.

The 350-acre site in Staverton sits within the Tewkesbury district boundary, and is jointly owned by Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council.

The airport has two primary tarmac runways and advanced navigation systems, along with two business parks and 29,729 sq m (320,000 sq ft) of business space on development land.

It brings around £50m to the local economy each year and supports 500 jobs.

A417 Missing Link

Construction is expected to be completed by February 2027

Construction work is set to ramp up on the A417 missing link over the next 12 months, which will eventually dual the 3.4 mile road between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout.

Engineers will begin building the Stockwell overbridge and continue progress on seven kilometres of new Cotswold drystone walling, which will reduce road noise.

So far more than 420,000 cubic metres of earth has been moved in the £460m project.

The first vehicles are expected to take to the road in 2027.

Brimscombe Port

Final plans for the port development will be submitted in the spring

A planning application for one of Stroud's largest upcoming developments is due to be submitted in the spring.

The Brimscombe Port project will see 144 homes, business units and community space built on the industrial site, along with the reintroduction of the buried Thames and Severn Canal.

The port dates back to the 1780s, and could house up to 100 vessels at it's peak. It was in-filled after the Second World War.

It's hoped planning permission will be approved by the end of the year.

Ashchurch Garden Community

Tewkesbury Borough Council was awarded garden town status and £2.4m from the government in 2021for the garden community

The first set of planning applications for the proposed Ashchurch Garden Community are set to be submitted in the coming 12 months.

When complete, the new town will have up to 10,000 homes, new schools, roads and cycle paths.

It may also see the return of a crossing over the railway line in Northway - previously dubbed the 'bridge to nowhere' - after Tewkesbury Borough Council lost a court case which was brought against the original plans.

Gloucestershire County Council hope to give an update as to the preferred option for improvements to the Junction 9 of the M5 and A46 after a public consultation last year.