York-based exhibition design company Bright White has been chosen to design and create the £5m visitor experience at the historic Battle of Bannockburn site in Scotland. The centre, which is due to open in time for the 700th anniversary of the battle in 2014, is being developed in partnership between Historic Scotland and the National Trust. Chris Walker, managing director of Bright White, told Attractions Management that the design of

Ditchling Museum - an attraction in East Sussex housing a number of works by early 20th century artists - has received £835,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The grant will provide 34 per cent of the total cost of plans to revamp the museum and its collections, including the creation of new education spaces. A wider programme of activities, events and workshops are also planned, while the cart lodge

Outline plans for the redevelopment of the 12.8-acre (5.2-hectare) Chelsea Barracks site in Westminster, London, have been submitted to the local authority. Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company - through its wholly-owned subsidiary Project Blue (Guernsey) - has lodged the proposals with Westminster Council. The mixed-use scheme aims to transform the former military barracks, which was closed to the public more than 150 years ago. Plans include a boutique hotel,

Margate's Turner Contemporary, a new £17.4m gallery dedicated to artist JMW Turner, has been officially handed over by Kent County Council (KCC). Construction work is now complete at the David Chipperfield-designed attraction, which been transferred over to the trust that will operate the venue. The handover comes after it was confirmed that Turner Contemporary will open its doors on 16 April 2011. R Durtnell and Sons has delivered the new

A new visitor attraction for families is preparing to open in Wuzhen, Tongxiang, in the northern Zhejiang province of China. Designed by Jack Rouse Associates (JRA), the attraction will occupy two existing buildings approximately 30,000sq ft in size and will feature a number of activities and educational zones. The key component of the project is a traditional games and play area, where children can learn about and play with toys

The public are being given the chance to comment on Science Oxford's proposals for a £30m cultural centre for science and enterprise. Science Oxford has begun a public consultation with the view of securing the support of the local people for the scheme. Planned for the heart of Oxford, the centre is set to be built over the next five years. Plans for the centre include a digital planetarium, interactive

Discussions are taking place on plans to preserve HMS Ark Royal and keep the ship at the Royal Docks in east London. Under proposals being considered by the Major of London, the aircraft carrier would become a museum and visitor attraction similar to HMS Belfast, currently anchored in the River Thames near Tower Bridge. Built in 1981, Ark Royal is now in the process of being decommissioned as part of

Wyre Borough Council (WBC) has approved plans for the construction of an observation tower at Rossall Point in Fleetwood, Lancashire. The scheme forms part of a £1.6m programme funded by the former Sea Change initiative and will replace an out-dated facility used by the National Coast Watch Initiative (NCI). Studio Three architects are behind the plans, which will include several viewing platforms, an education centre and a new home for

An event on 8 December will allow the public to view plans for the regeneration of part of the historic Bletchley Park WW2 codebreaking site in Buckinghamshire into a museum and education resource. The Prince's Regeneration Trust (PRT) is project managing the scheme and envisages the restoration of buildings in several areas, including some of the huts in which the code breaking took place and which are now derelict. Elsewhere,

Work is to start on a £5m redevelopment of the Ashmolean Museum's Egyptian galleries after the plans were approved by Oxford City Council. Rick Mather Architects are behind the designs, which will see the existing ground floor galleries transformed. Beard Construction will deliver the work. The project - backed by Lord Sainsbury's Linbury Trust - will also include the creation of a fifth gallery in a space currently occupied by

The new £21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM) has been unveiled by the National Trust of Scotland (NTS) in Alloway, Ayrshire. A 500sq m (5,382sq ft) exhibition space includes four areas - Identity, Inspiration, Fame and Creative Work - to explore the bard's life. The museum, which replaces the former Burns National Heritage Park, brings together a number of sites in Alloway with a connection to Burns. NTS has worked

Euro Disney and Groupe Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs have unveiled Les Villages Nature de Val d'Europe (Villages Nature), their new sustainable vacation destination concept. Central to the concept - which envisages 90 per cent of the resort retained as green space - is 'harmony between man and nature', reflected in both the accommodation and the activities offered. The latter would focus on gardening, boating, hiking, horseriding and walking. The

The Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada is seeking approval for the rezoning of its current site as the first step in a major redevelopment scheme. At the moment, the site is zoned for residential use and a new Comprehensive Zone, with an expanded boundary, could be tailored to the potential needs of the museum for the foreseeable future. The museum has the care of more than seven million

More than one million Lego bricks have been used to construct a new children's centre in Hillingdon, West London, which opened on 19 November. Legoland Windsor modellers and WHAT_architecture worked with Hillingdon Council to build the Cowley St Laurence facility. Children using the venue will be encouraged to use natural resources to play, while services will also include parenting support and financial advice. Hillingdon Council cabinet member for education and

Emil Galasso, vice president and co-owner of the Howe Caverns visitor attraction in Cobleskill, New York, has unveiled plans for a new park at the site. A major component will be Dinosaur Canyon, a walk-through outdoor attraction offering visitors the opportunity to interact with prehistoric giants. Howe Development, which is handling the expansion, will work with Garner Holt Productions to complete the concept design and take the project through installation.

Tate has announced that work on a £45m scheme to transform its original London gallery - Tate Britain - is to get underway in February 2011. Designed to help conserve the Sidney Smith-designed building,, the scheme will also entail a major upgrade of the the Grade II*-listed attraction's galleries. Caruso St John Architects' plans include the reconstruction of nine galleries in the southern part of the building and the revamp

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has approved developer Peel Holdings' plans for the £4.5bn transformation of Wallasey and Birkenhead Docks. Wirral Waters is one of the largest planning applications in the UK and was given the go ahead by Wirral Council in August, but had to go before the government. However, Pickles' decision to opt against calling in the scheme for further review means that a public inquiry will not be

The Oregon-based SRG Partnership is to lead a team tasked with developing a 25-year master plan for Oregon Zoo. SRG, together with CLR Design and Atelier Dreiseitl, will spend a year evaluating operations at the zoo and creating a master plan for projects funded by the US$125m (£80.5m) zoo bond measure passed in 2008. The plan is expected to be completed by the autumn of 2011. Ahead of the zoo

Glasgow-based Cameron Webster Architects (CWA) has unveiled its latest proposals for a new 'sustainable' visitor centre at Loch Ness, Scotland. The £2.5m Jacobite Discovery Project is an extension of the Inverness-based Jacobite Cruises and will also include the development of a new harbour. Designed to feature a "fully sustainable set of green credentials", the visitor centre will be heated and cooled using water from Loch Ness. CWA partner Robin Webster

Exhibition and attractions designer Thinkwell Group has launched Studio Thinkwell - an in-house digital design and production studio. In addition to multimedia, online and mobile integration, Studio Thinkwell will design and develop digital experiences such as alternate reality games (ARG), interactive microsites and RFID tracking solutions. The move is part of Thinkwell's strategy to ensure it is able to continue to provide turn-key designs to operators who demand complex technological

Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) chair Baroness Ford has expressed hopes that the London 2012 site will provide a 'new piece of city' for the capital. Speaking at the Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) conference on 10 November, Ford said the Olympic Park was more than just about sports venues and parkland following the Games. According to Ford, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has the potential to have the

The US$150m (£93m) expansion of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, US, is to open on Friday 26 November. The five-storey, 100,000sq ft museum will boast three floors of core exhibition space, which will explore more than 350 years of American Jewish history, while another floor will be dedicated to changing exhibits. The concourse will be entirely devoted to education: with classrooms, a theatre and a resource

Plans for a major £5.5bn redevelopment of London's Battersea Power Station have been given the green light by Wandsworth Council. Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has secured planning permission for the Rafael Viñoly-designed scheme, which includes a pledge of more than £200m towards the extension of the Northern Line. Battersea's Grade II*-listed power station building is to be restored as part of the plans, which include 700,000sq ft (65,032sq m) of

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction work on the new £19.1m ArcelorMittal Orbit tourist attraction in London. The 115m (377ft)-tall landmark sculpture, which will be sited at the heart of the 2012 Olympic Park, was designed by artist Anish Kapoor along with structural engineer Cecil Balmond. London mayor Boris Johnson was joined by ArcelorMittal chair and CEO Lakshmi Mittal and Andrew Altman, chief executive

Design and AV specialist Sarner is to begin the on site construction of the first ever immersive Doctor Who Experience for BBC Worldwide. Sarner was appointed to design, create and produce the attraction following a competitive tender at the beginning of 2010 and is currently working on the pre-build prior to going on site at the beginning of December. The exhibition is scheduled to open at London's Olympia on 20th

A new £8m 'leisure and learning' centre, which aims to teach young people about citizenship, has been opened in Sutton, south London. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg attended the launch of the Sutton Life Centre, which includes one of the largest climbing walls in the UK - 20m x 10m - and sports courts. London-based Curl la Tourelle Architects and Land Design Studio were behind the design of the new

A report compiled by consulting engineers Posford DATRYS has revealed that it will cost £5.5m to renovate Colwyn Bay's historic pier. Findings from the Caernarfon-based company's appraisal of the attraction's structure were presented to the Colwyn Bay Pier Task and Finish Group earlier this month. Conwy County Borough Council is working in partnership with the Pier Pressure Group - a community organisation - in a bid to progress the renovation.