January started on a tragic note with the passing of Victoria Kevans, who ran The Victoria pub on Ickleford Road, leaving many distraught in Hitchin. A statement from the pub said that "Vic was not just the heart of The Vic, but also a beautiful soul and a cornerstone of our community. She loved and invested deeply in our town, co-founding Hitchin Street Food, and was a tireless supporter of various charities".

In February the talk of the town was how a SUV car managed to take a wrong turn in Portmill Car Park to end up making a splash into the River Hiz. An eyewitness said: "They smashed through the railings," while another source added: "Clearly they got the wrong gear when leaving their parking space." Officers at the scene refused to comment, with Nub News understanding they ducked all questions.

Pizza lovers were relieved in March when the news broke that Hitchin's Papa Johns restaurant survived the axe. The company confirmed 43 stores earmarked for closure - due to the company labelling them "underperforming locations that are no longer financially viable". Thankfully all of the Hertfordshire branches were left untouched.

In April Hitchin's main swimming pools and gym started under new management. Earlier in the year North Herts Council entered a ten-year partnership with Sport and Leisure Management (SLM) trading under the brand name Everyone Active. Councillor Steve Jarvis, the then-North Herts Council's Executive Member for Leisure, said: "The process for awarding the management contract for our leisure facilities was rigorous and exhaustive.

May's local elections saw all seats up for grabs in a new "all in" format. The results saw 25 Labour, 19 Liberal Democrats and 7 Conservative councillors voted in meaning there was no overall control of the council. The council will now be run as a Labour & Co-operative 'minority administration'.

June saw the ever-popular Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival return to the town. Organised by CAMRA North Hertfordshire & Hitchin Rugby Club, the event featured around 200 beers, ciders and perries. Organisers said: "In addition to an extensive selection of almost 100 Cask Ales, there was a KeyKeg Bar with an exciting range of Craft Beers, and a well-stocked International Beer Bar".

Major political change happened in July when Alistair Strathern won a resounding majority as Labour claimed Hitchin from the Conservatives. Mr Strathern took 42.8 per cent of the votes, some 7,000 votes more than outgoing MP Bim Afolami.

In August followers of North Herts PRIDE on social media and locals to the area, noticed a welcome revamp of the rainbow bench at the top of Windmill Hill. The bench, installed in March 2023, had been "in desperate need of a face lift" having been inflicted with some "mindless vandalism". The bench funded by the late Judi Billing now looks "as good as new."

In September heavy rain across the country led the River Purwell to burst it banks. The severity of the flooding in Hitchin made the national news as residents pushed for "drastic action" from the authorities. Hertfordshire County Council sad that 45 properties in the town were flooded.

October saw the refurbishment work on the Anchor Pub begin with a scheduled completion date of May 2025. Plans were approved back in March to allow for work on the pub but more controversially to construct a Sainsbury's Local on vacant land to its rear.

November saw yet another serious fire in one of the recycling centres in Hitchin's industrial areas, the fifth in the last year. All of Hitchin's District Councillors put out a statement urging the County Council and the Environment Agency to act, saying that "we cannot continue with this". In addition to the fires the town also saw a series of power cuts on the night of November 4th, prompting some to ask "how did you survive the Hitchin blackout?".

December saw much better news for the town; in addition to the popular tree lights switch on and the tractors parade the town received the accolade of being the 20^th happiest place to live in the entire country!