The DCMS has announced the latest group coastal towns that will benefit from its Sea Change grant scheme. Southport, Great Yarmouth, Bridlington and Hastings are to receive £12m between them in order to “boost regeneration through investment in culture and heritage”. Barbara Follett, culture and tourism minister, said: “In these difficult economic times it is more important than ever before to make sure we continue to invest in the regeneration

One of the oldest museums in Britain, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology at Oxford University, is to close the public until November 2009 as part of a major redevelopment project. First opened in 1683, the museum is undergoing a £61m revamp including the creation of a new 8,812sq m (94,852sq ft) exhibition hall, which will double the amount of available display space at the attraction. The museum has

The National Theatre on London's South Bank has commissioned architects Haworth Tompkins to produce a masterplan for the development of the Grade II-listed building. Haworth Tompkins beat architects Dixon Jones, Levitt Bernstein, Allies & Morrison and David Chipperfield to win the commission. The masterplan is expected to build on Haworth Tompkin's previous refurbishment work on the theatre's studio annex, completed in November 2007. It is likely the plans will include

The 20-year masterplan for the £700m leisure-led regeneration of Edinburgh's harbour front has been submitted to the city council by developer Forth Ports. The detailed framework for the 26-hectare site, designed by architect RTKL Associates, includes two urban villages at Leith Docks, two piers, a landmark cultural venue such as an international concert hall, up to five new hotels and new leisure, restaurant and retail space around Ocean Terminal. Plans

Hadrian's Wall Heritage (HWH) has acquired 150 acres (60.7 hectares) of land at Camp Farm in Maryport, Cumbria, as part of plans to establish a new museum at the World Heritage Site. The £11.5m scheme will involve the excavation of the former Roman fort at Maryport, as well as an adjacent vicus, a civilian settlement that spread outside the fort walls and comprised more than 170 buildings. It is hoped

A new £12m music, cinema and arts venue is to be established on the Shetland Islands after the project secured investment worth £2.8m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It is hoped that the Mareel centre, which will be situated on Lerwick's waterfront, will become a centre of excellence for "international creativity", as well as driving Scotland's cultural and economic development. Led by Shetland Arts Development Agency (SADA), the

Nottingham City Council (NCC) has confirmed that a project to establish a new art gallery in the city centre is to cost £3.25m more than had been previously expected. Nottingham Contemporary, which is set to be one of the largest contemporary arts centres in the UK, will now cost £19m to complete, compared with an initial estimate of £13.9m. Facilities at the 3,000sq m (32,292sq ft) site will include four

Designs for the redevelopment of Gwyn Hall in Neath, South Wales, which was severely damaged by fire, have been unveiled by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC). A public consultation has now been launched by the council to allow local residents to have their say on Holder Mathias Architects' proposals for the venue, which was undergoing a £4m refurbishment at the time of the fire on 18 October last

Theatre company Mind the Gap has opened its £2.1m performing arts workspace in Lister Mills in Bradford. Mind the Gap Studios boasts three fully-equipped studio spaces for rehearsals, workshops, training and dance. The organisation aims to help people with learning disabilities to become professional actors. Designed by Allen Todd Architecure, the project was delivered in partnership with Bradford Council, and funded by £1.25m from Arts Council England, Yorkshire as well

Construction work on the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent, has begun but the opening will be delayed until 2011. The new gallery, designed by architect David Chipperfield, will exhibit contemporary art and celebrates the town's connect with artist JMW Turner, who was schooled in Margate and later lived there. The attraction, which has been in the pipeline for 15 years, was originally expected to open in 2010. Kent-based contractor

Seven architects have been shortlisted for the multi-million pound refurbishment of the Grade II-listed Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. The firms, whittled down from fifty submissions, are London-based Allford Hall Monaghan Morris; Burrell Foley Fischer, in London; Nord Architecture in Glasgow; Pentagram Architects; Paris-based Studio Andrew Todd; Studio 3 and Union North. The design competition to upgrade and restore the 70-year-old art deco-style building also included firms from New York

Leeds City Council (LCC) has approved plans for a new centre of excellence for dance which will become the new home of the Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and the Phoenix Dance Theatre (PDT). The new six-storey £12m centre will consist of seven dance studios, including a 200-seat studio theatre, as well as a health suite, a costume workshop and office space. It will also eventually house a full-time a classical

Public art and social facilities have been proposed by Leicester University as part of its £1bn campus redevelopment project. The scheme is designed to establish the university as one of the top ten in the UK, and its new Development Framework Plan outlines £786m of investment over the next two decades to complement a £300m plan unveiled in 2002. At the centre of proposals, the university plans to establish high

The £61m Curve theatre in Leicester has opened its doors after three years of construction. Based in the St George’s Conservation Area in the heart of the city’s cultural quarter, the building was designed by the Uruguayan-born, New York-based architect Rafael Viñoly and is his first completed project in the UK. Curve, which replaces the Haymarket Theatre, boasts two auditoriums – the 750-seat main theatre and a 350-seat studio –

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) has launched a fundraising appeal to help finance a new £22.5m arts training and performance complex in Cardiff. Cardiff Council approved planning permission for the scheme in September, and the college is now seeking to raise £3.5m from donors with 80 per cent of the project's funding already in place, including a £10m contribution from the Welsh Assembly Government. Plans for

Draft plans for the redevelopment of Potters Field on the South Bank, which include a new cultural centre, are currently being drawn up following consultation with local residents. The 3-acre (1.2-hectare) site, situated opposite the Tower of London, has been disused for a number of years, and now a joint project between Southwark Council and residential developer Berkeley Homes is set to transform the area. London-based architect, Squire and Partners,

A three-year fundraising appeal to secure the future of the Watermill Theatre in Berkshire has reached its target of £3m. The campaign to save the Grade-II listed theatre in Bagnor, near Newbury, was launched in June 2005 and attracted more than 4,000 contributions from individuals, trusts, foundations and businesses, including £200,000 from Arts Council England. By January 2007, campaigners had already raised the £1.8m needed to acquire the theatre premises,

Developer Dubai Properties is building a £255m museum, dedicated to Middle Eastern modern art as the centre piece of its £8bn Cultural Village project in Dubai, UAE. The 25,000 sq m Museum of Middle East Modern Art (MOMEMA), designed by Amsterdam-based architects UN Studio, will include exhibition spaces, art galleries, leasable workshop spaces, an auditorium and an amphitheatre for live performances and international festivals. MOMEMA will also feature a 60-room

Work has started on a £1.46m refurbishment project at the Grade-II listed Battle Library in Reading. Reading Borough Council has appointed the South London company, Mansells Construction Services, to carry out the transformation of the library. A new community garden, an exhibition space for a community art gallery and a refreshment point will be created as part of the project, which has been part-funded by a grant from the Big

Argent, the developers leading the £2bn regeneration of London's King's Cross area, will need to use its own money to fund the next phase of the project after talks with a consortium of international banks fell through. Negotiations over the £400,000 financial package ended as conditions in the financial market deteriorated. Argent needs to start the next phase of work this month in order to finish the first buildings in

The new Kings Place arts centre, designed by architects Dixon Jones, has opened in Kings Cross, central London. The development includes a 420-seat auditorium, a 200- seat flexible space for concerts and conferences, teaching rooms, rehearsal rooms, a restaurant and office space. The building consists of a public ground-floor area on the waterfront, two lower levels featuring music and arts areas arranged around a central atrium, and seven floors of

The Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has announced that Saadiyat Beach Golf Course in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is on track to open in autumn 2009. The 18-hole course, designed by golf champion Gary Player to be 'eco-sensitive', could be the first attraction to open as part of the 15-year, A Dhs.100 billion (£15bn, US$ 27bn) Saadiyat Island development. Translated to mean Island of Happiness, the project is

Arts Council England is extending its consultation on the future of Architecture Week to help decide "the most effective way of engaging the public with art and architecture". In a statement the arts body said that it will carry out wider consultation throughout the built environment sector, including the Architecture Foundation, IGNITE and local authorities. The consultation follows a review commissioned by the council and its Architecture Week partners, the

Norway-based firm Various Architects (VA) has designed a collapsible venue that will tour worldwide next year with an Arts Alliance Productions performance called ID - Identity of the Soul. The 3,900sq m (42,000sq ft) Mobile Performance Venue (MPV) ranges from 11m (36ft) to 17m (56ft) in height, and holds a standing audience of 3,500. The foyer contains front-of-house functions such as ticketing, security, cloak room, refreshments and toilets. A mezzanine

Tate Modern and architects Herzog & de Meuron have revealed their revised plans for the £215m development of the museum. The original design – which resembled a stack of bricks – has been scrapped, making way for a new three-dimensional trapezoid-shaped structure. The 11-storey building will be 65m (213ft) tall and will add 21,500sq m (230,400sq ft) to the Tate Modern's existing 35,000sq m (377,000sq ft). Three oil tanks from the

Aylesbury Vale District Council has appointed Willmott Dixon to construct the £35m Aylesbury Waterside Theatre. The new theatre, designed by architects RHWL, is due to open in 2010 and will replace Aylesbury Civic Centre. Facilities will include a 1,200-seat main auditorium which converts into a 1,800-capacity hall and a 220-seat suite for smaller events Funded by the district council, the theatre will be operated by a commercial operator, to be

Merlin Entertainments Group is to unveil a US$55m (£27.6m, AUD$56.4m, 37.4m euro) Madame Tussauds wax museum in Hollywood, USA, next spring. The three-storey, 40,000sq ft property has been designed by Michael Rotondi of JAG/RoTo Architects and will be the ninth museum in the Madame Tussauds worldwide portfolio. It will be located on Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive and is the first time a new-build property has been specifically created for