Leisure sector organisations have issued a mixed response to the chancellor's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) published yesterday (20 October). George Osborne announced a 25 per cent cut in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) budget, which will run over the course of the review period to 2014-15. Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt insisted it was a 'good settlement' and will help enable the government to "protect our sporting and

East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC) has agreed to put forward concept designs for a proposed new leisure complex in Ely for consideration by planners. The Roberts Limbrick-designed proposals would see an eco-friendly and sustainable venue built to replace the existing Paradise Pool facility, including a six-lane, 25m swimming pool and a six-court sports hall. A small children's leisure water area, an additional fitness area, family changing facilities and a car

A ceremony is to be held on 18 October to mark the topping out of a new £12m leisure centre, which is being built on a site near Matlock, Derbyshire. Donna Kellogg, former Commonwealth Games badminton gold medallist, and local dignitaries will attend at the event in a bid to help celebrate the construction milestone. London-based Morgan Sindall was chosen by Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) to build the Central

Glasgow-based Barr + Wray has been appointed by main contractor Farrans Construction, on behalf of North Down Borough Council, to install the 50m swimming pool and associated plant works at a new leisure complex in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. The new £38m facility – designed by McAdam Design with S&P Architects – will be located at Valentine Playing Fields. The project, which includes a £15m investment from the Northern

The foundation stone for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Stadium has been laid in a ceremony attended by Russian Federation vice-premier Dimitry Kozak and John Barrow, senior principle of sports design and construction firm Populous. Populous designed the Sochi Olympic Masterplan with the Olympic Stadium serving as the centre point. The stadium will become the central icon of the Games and is closely linked to the Olympic Flame. The design

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) has been given the green light for the development of a new 56,250-seat stadium by planners at the local authority. Haringey Council has backed the Premier League club's proposals for the Northumberland Development Project, which includes a new stadium; a public square; and a new club store with museum. KSS is behind the design of the scheme, which will also include the restoration of the

Birmingham's Alexander Stadium is set to undergo a £12.25m redevelopment after the local authority approved the business plan for the scheme. It is hoped the 'self-financing' redevelopment will establish the stadium as a potential base for UK Athletics (UKA), with plans featuring a 5,000-seat stand to increase capacity to 12,800. The S&P Architects-designed plans also allow for the installation of temporary seating if required, while new office space will be

Castleford Tigers rugby league team has welcomed 'overwhelming' feedback from supporters, following a consultation into its proposed new stadium design. The club has secured an agreement with developer Waystone for a new stadium at Glasshoughton, which will form part of a wider 335-acre (136-hectare) mixed-use scheme. Leeds-based architects Ramsdens and Partners has designed the venue, and Castleford Tigers now expects to submit detailed plans by mid-October. Castleford Tigers chief executive

Pellikaan Construction is set to start demolition work on a former school building in Horley, Surrey, which is making way for a new £7.5m leisure centre development. The Holland-based contractor has already commenced work to prepare the site for the demolition of Court Lodge Secondary School, which is to get underway on 17 September. Masonry from the existing building will be crushed on site and reused to provide hardcore for

Calderdale Council has announced that two new swimming pools and fitness facilities at Brighouse and Sowerby Bridge are due to open on 25 October and 22 November respectively. The £10.5m project - designed by Saunders Boston and delivered by contractor Willmott Dixon - has been part-funded by the sale of Leeds-Bradford International Airport in 2007. Both of the new centres will include a 25m, six-lane swimming pool; a learner pool

Dacorum Sports Trust is on schedule to open a new extreme sports centre at the Sportspace leisure centre in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire next year. The centre, which has secured £5m worth of government funding, will include a 60m x 15m indoor climbing area - supplied by UK-based Entre-Prises - and one of the largest indoor, combined timber and concrete skate parks in the UK. Dacorum has appointed GB Building Solutions

Cardiff Council has chosen Planet Ice to design, build and operate a new permanent ice arena at the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay. The council, Planet Ice and the Cardiff Devils have agreed to work together to deliver a first class facility for the city which can be enjoyed by recreational skaters, the Cardiff Devils and their fans. Cardiff Council leader Rodney Berman said: "I welcome this decision, which

Belfast-based company Farrans Construction has been appointed by North Down Borough Council (NDBC) to deliver a new leisure complex in Bangor. The new £38m facility – designed by McAdam Design with S&P Architects – will include Northern Ireland's first Olympic-sized swimming pool and will be located at Valentine Playing Fields. Other facilities at the planned complex will include a fun pool, a fitness suite, an eight-court sports hall, a climbing

A temporary water polo arena, which will be used during the London 2012 Games, has been given the go ahead by the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) planning committee. The proposed venue - designed by David Morley Architects - includes a sloping inflatable roof and will be able to accommodate 5,000 spectators during Games time. Facilities will include a 37m x 23m competition pool and a slightly smaller warm-up pool and

Salford City Council (SCC) has approved detailed plans for the construction of a new £26m stadium at Barton-upon-Irwell, which will provide a home for Salford City Reds rugby league team. Preparatory work is already underway on site to enable the 20,000-capacity community venue to be ready in time for the start of the 2012 Super League season. Construction is due to commence in November. The stadium will be delivered and

Aberdeen Football Club (AFC) has lodged a planning application with Aberdeen City Council to build a new £40m stadium at Loirston. The site at Loirston Loch near Nigg was named as the preferred site for the Dons' new 21,000-seat stadium after AFC decided its current base at Pittodrie was 'outdated'. A site at Kings Links, opposite Pittodrie, was said to be too small and expensive. The new development - designed

Archial Architects has completed a £640,000 refurbishment and gym extension at the University of Essex in Colchester. The project is part of a larger £1.4m upgrade of the facility. The new two-storey extension to the sports centre's existing gym marks the completion of the first stage of the University's Strategic Sports Development Plan. The project has seen a new 130-station fitness suite being installed at the ground floor, while facilities

Construction work has begun on a new leisure centre in Lewisham. The Loampit Vale Leisure Centre will include two swimming pools - an eight-lane, 25m competition pool and a 20m training pool - a 100-station fitness club, two group exercise studios, a climbing wall, a crèche and a café. Plans also include a full-service health and beauty spa. The centre has been designed by LA Architects, who worked with specialist

The Kentish Town Sports Centre in London reopened yesterday (26 July) following a comprehensive £25m redevelopment of the Grade II-listed Victorian building. Facilities at the new centre include three swimming pools, a 90-station health and fitness club equipped by Technogym, a Kinesis area, a Power Plate zone, a large group exercise studio and a Wii Fit interactive zone. Work also included the refurbishment of the centre’s heritage features – such

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council (RBBC) has appointed Holland-based Pellikaan Construction to build a new £7.5m leisure centre on the site of a former school in Horley, Surrey. Work is due to start on the demolition of existing buildings at Court Lodge Secondary School in late September in order to enable construction work on the S&P Architects-designed facility to get underway in November. A six-lane, 25m swimming pool with ramped

HRH The Duke of Gloucester has officially opened the new £21m Carnegie Pavilion at Headingley Carnegie Cricket Ground in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Designed by architect Will Alsop, the dual-use facility has been developed as the result of a partnership between Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC). YCCC will use the facility during the summer holidays as a cricket pavilion, which will boast a media centre, improved

Netherlands-based architect Erick van Egeraat has won an international design competition and secured the commission for the VTB Arena Park in Moscow. The 300,000sq m VTB Arena Park will include the complete redevelopment of the home of Dinamo Moscow football club. The mixed-use project is set to be one of the largest sport projects in Russia in recent years. VTB Bank will provide an investment of around €500m (US$644m, £421m)

Plans to replace the Victoria Leisure Centre in Sneinton, Nottingham, with a new £9m facility have been given the final approval by central government. The plans were given the greenlight by Nottingham City Council in June, but as the building is located within a conservation area and is owned by the council, the plans required the approval of Eric Pickles, the secretary of state for Communities and Local Government. Designs

Oldham Athletic Football Club's (OAFC) plans for a new stadium development have moved forward after consultancy Sports Solutions GB was appointed to deliver the £20m scheme. The npower League One club announced plans to relocate to a 30-acre (12.1-hectare) site at Failsworth last year as part of a major regeneration project to be carried out in partnership with Oldham Council. A new 12,000-capacity venue to replace OAFC's existing Boundary Park

The £12.6m redevelopment of Leatherhead Leisure Centre, Surrey, has entered its final phase after work on the new build element of the scheme was completed. A new 439sq m (4,725sq ft) fitness suite and aerobics studio, sauna and steamrooms, three therapy rooms and a four-court multi-use games area are among the new facilities at the venue, which is operated on behalf of the Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) by leisure

Brentwood-based contractor McLaren Construction has been appointed to deliver Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's (THFC) new £45m training facility at Bulls Cross, London. The facility, which has been designed by KSS Design Group, is set to be used by the club's first team and academy squads and will incorporate a 70m x 50m (230ft x 164ft) indoor artificial pitch. A fitness centre and gym; changing rooms; medical facilities; a canteen and

Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) has been appointed to draw up plans for the £11m transformation of Edgbaston Priory Tennis Club in Birmingham, following a design competition. A planning application is due to be submitted later this year for the project, which will include a new performance centre, six new indoor courts, a new gym and a revamped clubhouse, as well as a new showcase court. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)