London-based contractor Leadbitter Group has been awarded a contract to design and construct the new £23m Becontree Heath Leisure Centre, London. Working to original designs drawn up by S&P Architects, the new complex will include a 100-station fitness suite and two workout studios with dedicated changing facilities. Becontree Heath Leisure Centre will also feature a 10-lane, 25m swimming pool and learner pool; a four-court sports hall; a 500-seat spectator area

A major new £12.5m swimming pool and fitness complex - The Edge - has opened its doors at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire. Delivered by Hertfordshire-based company Willmott Dixon, The Edge has been designed by S&P Architects and includes a new 200-station fitness suite equipped by Technogym. The centre also boasts an eight-lane, 25m swimming pool, with moveable floor to create depths of up to 2m (6.6ft). The

The former 3-pool swimming baths at Knowsley on Merseyside are to be demolished to make way for a new shopping development. The findings of a consultation document sent by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council to residents and businesses in Kirkby asking for their views on the future development of the town, revealed that seven out of 10 of the respondents rated new retail facilities and a food superstore as their top

A new £25m leisure complex being developed in Harlow, Essex, will not be completed until mid-to-late April after the contractor delivering the scheme reported further delays. Forming part of the wider Harlow Gateway regeneration project, the Harlow Leisurezone was initially due to be handed over to Gateway partners by Christmas 2009 but is now not set to open until May. An issue with the installation of fire dampers meant Abingdon-based

Hadley Wood Youth Trust (HWYT) has secured planning permission for new community sports facilities at Hadley Wood, north London. Designed by AndArchitects, the scheme will include the development of a full-size, floodlit artificial grass pitch, sports pavilion with four changing rooms, an education suite, kitchen, multi-function room and a number of grass pitches. As well as the local community, the facilities will be used by a number of further education

More than 10 million litres of water are being used to test the three concrete pools at the London 2012 Aquatics Centre, which remains on track for completion in 2011. Testing of the dive pool and training pool has been completed, with the competition pool due to be filled before work starts to seal and line the pools with 180,000 tiles. Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said: "The

A new £19.1m tourist attraction is set to be created at the Olympic Park in London after plans for the 115m (377ft)-tall sculpture - the ArcelorMittal Orbit - were commissioned. London-based artist Anish Kapoor was selected by mayor Boris Johnson, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and ArcelorMittal chair and chief executive officer Lakshmi Mittal for the scheme. The sculpture - set to become the largest in the UK - will be

Olympic Stadium poised for Dubai move A consortium of Middle East-based investors have launched an audacious bid to move London's Olympic Stadium to Dubai after the 2012 Games. The Al-Shera consortium claimed the proposal would offer "an effective solution" to an ongoing debate over what the stadium should be used for in legacy mode. West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC) has already signalled its plans to move to the East

Britain's elite track and field athletes are set to be given a boost in their preparations for London 2012 with the installation of the Olympic track at two training locations. A replica of the Mondo FX track due to be installed at London's Olympic Stadium will be fitted at both UK Athletics' (UKA) National Performance Centres in Lee Valley and Loughborough. The London Marathon Charitable Trust's (LMCT) has agreed to

Work is due to get underway on the construction of a new multi-use sports pavilion in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which will become the new home of a number of clubs. A sod-cutting ceremony is scheduled to take place on 26 March to mark the start of work, which is due for completion in late summer. Designed by Norwich-based NPS Group, the facility will be built by construction group Irwins at

The new £6.44m Djanogly Community Leisure Centre (DCLC) in Hyson Green, Nottingham, will open to the public on 6 April. The new facility will replace the existing Noel Street Leisure Centre which is set to close as the new centre opens. Facilities at the DCLC will include a 50-station fitness suite equipped by Technogym, a multi-activity studio, a 25m swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms. The scheme forms part of

Disabled sports fans are set to benefit from improved access at three railway stations near to 2012 Olympic venues under plans confirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT). Slough, Wembley Central and Hackney Central stations are all set to be upgraded in time for the the London Games in order to offer step-free access under the Government's Access for All programme. Around £2.5m will be spent on upgrading Slough station,

An Aberdeen swimming pool complex, which was first opened in 1937 but was forced to shut in 2008, has been put on the market by the local authority. Property consultancy Ryden has been tasked with securing the sale of the B-listed Bon Accord Baths by Aberdeen City Council (ACC), which was designed by Alexander McRobbie of the City Architects Department. The two-storey centre on Justice Mill Lane includes reception areas,

Plans for a major multi-million pound revamp of Old Trafford cricket stadium in Manchester have been given the green light by Trafford Council's planning committee. Government Office North West will now decide whether to formally approve the project, which has been put forward by the Old Trafford Partnership - comprising Ask Developments, Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) and Tesco. Plans for the transformation of a 50-acre (20.2-hectare) site include a

Bristol City Council (BCC) will determine whether to approve plans for a new 30,000-seat stadium at Ashton Vale after the government revealed it would not intervene in the process. Bristol City Football Club (BCFC) has welcomed the Government Office for the South West's announcement, which means the council will have sole responsibility for deciding the scheme's fate. Planning officers have already 'minded to approve' the development of the club's new

Milton Keynes Council (MKC) has approved plans for the development of a new community sports pavilion on playing fields off Cranborne Avenue, Westcroft. Revised proposals for the project were submitted for consideration by the council in December 2009 after initial plans for a two-storey development were refused in October. The planned one-storey pavilion is set to boast four changing rooms fitted with showers, officials' changing rooms and a small social

Nottingham City Council (NCC) has lodged plans for the £9m development of the city's new Victoria Leisure Centre, which will be built on the site of the existing facility. Designs for the complex have been drawn up by London-based architects Levitate and form part of a wider £32m council-led scheme to upgrade leisure provision across Nottingham. The existing Victoria Leisure Centre is due to close on 1 April to make

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC) has been handed a boost after planning officials at the local authority backed plans for a major renovation of the County Ground, Bristol. Two planning applications submitted for the redevelopment of the club's Nevil Road venue - due to be considered on 10 March - have been recommended for approval by officers at Bristol City Council (BCC). The council's development control (north) committee will determine

London's iconic Piccadilly Circus is set to undergo a major £14m makeover in a bid to provide more space for pedestrians under new proposals approved by Westminster City Council (WCC). More than 1km (0.6 miles) of "oppressive" railings installed in 1963 are set to be removed as part of the scheme, which follows the success of a Japanese-style diagonal pedestrian crossing created at Oxford Circus. The site's landmark Eros statue

The Time Capsule leisure centre in Coatbrige, Scotland, is to undergo a £6m redevelopment funded by North Lanarkshire Council. Improvements at the centre, which attracts around 700,000 visitors a year, will include the creation of a new health and fitness club, a new water slide and improved spa facilities. The centre's new spa suite will feature a stone-bedded relaxation area, spa pools, steamrooms and saunas. There will also be a

Slough Community Leisure is to start work in April converting the existing Slough Tennis Centre into a new £1.6m ten-pin bowling centre. Due for completion by the end of the summer, the new facility will boast 18 bowling lanes, gaming machines, pool tables and a café/bar. The project is being funded and managed by Alliance Leisure. It was designed by Bignell Shacklady Ewing and building work will be carried out

Evesham Leisure Centre in Worcestershire has won the Community Architecture category of the Wychavon Building Design Awards. Wychavon Leisure, which operates the facility, highlighted its strengths as being "its striking use of colour, forms and contrasting material, all of which has helped the new leisure centre stand as a landmark development for the town". The facility was designed by architects Roberts-Limbrick and constructed by Galliford Try. The Wychavon Building Design

East Northamptonshire Council (ENC) has announced that it has submitted detailed plans for the new £13m Manor Park Leisure Centre, which is set to be built in Rushden, Northamptonshire. Working in partnership with Rushden Town Council, the centre is poised to include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool and teaching pool, dance/exercise studios and a fitness suite, as well as a six-court sports hall. Leisure water facilities - such as jets

London's Olympic organisers have been given the green light by Greenwich Council to use the Royal Artillery Barracks and the O2 Arena as host venues during the 2012 Games. The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich will stage Olympic and Paralympic shooting events, as well as the Paralympic archery competition. Meanwhile, the O2 Arena will host gymnastics, basketball and wheelchair basketball. Plans submitted by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) in partnership

Ireland-based contractor SOL Golf Course Construction has been appointed to build a new championship links course at US tycoon Donald Trump's £1bn golf resort in Scotland. SOL, which has recently completed a golf course at Lough Erne Golf Club in Ireland, will work alongside Trump International's golf course architect, Martin Hawtree on all aspects of the golfing element of the resort development. Michael O'Leary, managing director of SOL, said: "We

A new US$6.5m (£4.1m, €4.7m) indoor sports complex could be developed on a 9-acre (3.6-hectare) site in Cleveland, Ohio, US, under plans announced by a local non-profit organisation. Fast Track Cycling (FTC) has secured a real estate purchase option with the City of Cleveland for the construction of the 150,000 sq ft (13,935m) facility, which will boast a 250m wood cycling track and 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of turf playing

Plans have been unveiled for a new €30m (£26m, US$42m) football stadium in Budapest, Hungary. The 22,000-capacity venue, designed by S.A.M.O architects, will be the new home of the city's Ferencváros Football Club and is scheduled to open in 2012. UK-based Capita Symonds will provide project management, cost management and design services including structures, acoustics, health & safety, m&e and transport planning. The stadium will anchor a larger, €400m (US$560m,