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named as the preferred site for the Dons' new 21,000-seat stadium after AFC decided its current base at Pittodrie was 'outdated'.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)

A new £12m conference and events venue at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester - the home of Lancashire Cricket Club (LCCC) - has been officially opened. The Point, which forms part of a wider overhaul of the venue, can cater for up to 1,000 people and boasts a mezzanine bar area. Manchester-based BDP Architects designed the facility, which was built by Morgan Ashurst. Plans for the second phase of

Marshall Streets Baths in Soho, London, is due to reopen its doors to the public 26 July, following the completion of a £25m renovation led by Westminster City Council (WCC). The historic 160-year-old baths, which have been shut for more than 10 years, have undergone work to restore its original Sicilian marble-lined pool and green Swedish marble walls. A new purpose-built leisure centre has also been created at the site,

The £6.4m Djanogly Community Leisure Centre in Nottingham has opened to the public. Facilities at the centre, designed by Archial Architects and being built by ISG Regions, include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool with full moveable floor, a changing village, a 50-station fitness suite supplied by Technogym, sauna and steam rooms and a dance/activity studio. The new building has been designed to fit on the site without imposing on the

The development of a new multi-million pound sports complex in Basildon, Essex, has reached the next stage after work to construct the venue's steel structure was completed. Basildon District Council (BDC) has announced that water testing has now started on Basildon Sporting Village's 50m pool, with the concrete lining to be filled with water to test its integrity before tiling and rendering can begin. The water testing phase will take

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has confirmed that all permanent venues at the Olympic Park are now under construction with the start of work at Eton Manor. Mansells Construction Services has been appointed to deliver the new Eton Manor venue, which will provide aquatics training facilities during the 2012 Olympic Games with three full-size, temporary pools. A temporary synchronised swimming pool and water polo pool will also be created, before

London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects has submitted plans for a new £17m swimming pool complex in Worthing, West Sussex, to replace the town's Aquarena venue. The proposals, which are likely to be considered by planning officials at Worthing Borough Council (WBC) in September, incorporate a six-lane, 25m competition-standard swimming pool and an indoor leisure pool. A combined learner/diving pool with 1m (3.3ft) and 3m (9.8ft) boards; a health and fitness centre;

Elea Golf Club near Paphos, Cyprus, will be launched later this year in what is billed as one of the most important new course openings in Europe in recent years. Designed by six-time major winner, Sir Nick Faldo, the par 71 course is located 8km from the international airport and will be the centrepiece of Elea Estate, a luxury resort development. The Elea estate will boast luxurious villas and apartments,

Construction company ISG has begun work on the £4.3m rowing centre at The Graham Sports Centre in Maiden Castle, which is owned by Durham University. The centre is the main site for the university's sports teams and and ISG is set to develop existing rowing amenities, as well as refurbishing and extending the building to accommodate additional sporting facilities. ISG will build two steel frame extensions onto the sports centre,

New facilities have opened at a leisure centre in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, after work on the first £1.3m phase of a wider refurbishment of the venue was completed. Lakeland Forum now boasts a new entrance, an enhanced reception area, a viewing gallery overlooking the 25m, six-lane swimming pool and additional facilities for disabled users as part of stage one. Improvements have also included the refurbishment of the Erne room and

Bristol City Football Club's (BCFC) plans for a new 30,000-seat stadium at Ashton Vale were given a boost after councillors approved proposals for a new access road to the venue. North Somerset Council's planning and regulatory committee unanimously voted in favour of the access plans, which were initially rejected by the local authority in December last year. The government has already said that it will not intervene in a decision

A new £13m leisure centre is set to be developed in Rushden, Northamptonshire, after the scheme was given the green light by the local authority. East Northamptonshire Council (ENC) approved plans for the new Manor Park Leisure Centre, having originally deferred its decision last month. The venue will incorporate a six-lane, 25m swimming pool and teaching pool and a fitness suite, as well as exercise studios and leisure water facilities