Construction work has started on a 400m (1,312ft) BMX track in Burgess Park, Southwark, South London. Ground Control Ltd has been appointed as the contractor for the new £800,000 track which will open in summer 2013. The track will be free to use and has been designed to cater for both novices and competition-standard riders. It will feature a starting hill, a variety of jumps and floodlighting. The venue will

Broken Sound Club, a luxury Platinum Club in Boca Raton, Florida, US has unveiled a US$7m (5.4m euro,£4.5m)free-standing spa and fitness centre. The 13,100sq ft (1,217sq m) Moonstone, The Spa at Broken Sound will be managed by American Leisure who are also responsible for the treatment concepts and protocols, product selection, and overseeing operations. The spa, designed in warm natural tones, features six treatment rooms, plus a "Moonstone Suite" couples

Centara Hotels & Resorts has announced it will open its five-star Grand-branded hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, in August, with a spa to open at the property in December. Centara Grand Phraramnak Resort Pattaya will be the third Centara Grand in upmarket Pattaya and will include 165 rooms and suites over eight storeys. Designed by Model 1to1 and Gooodlux Design Consultants, the hotel features marble and granite public areas and Fendi

Beijing-based MAD Architects have unveiled the completed China Wood Sculpture Museum located in Harbin, China. The 200m (656ft) long building is sheathed in metal and surrounded by a densely populated Chinese-style neighbourhood and residential complexes. It was constructed with the aim of adding cultural and surreal essence to the surrounding urban context. The museum takes the form of a twisted strip of steel, punctuated with curved windows. MAD describes the

The opening of the Shangri-La, The Shard in London has been delayed with the hotel now set to open in September rather than summer. The five-star 202-room property will be London's first elevated luxury hotel, occupying levels 34 to 52 of the landmark skyscraper. Room features will include custom-made beds, iPod docking stations, complimentary high-speed internet access, coffee machines, heated floors, washlet toilets, and a butler service in all suites.

Linwood's sport and community centre ON-X has officially opened following a £24m investment by Renfrewshire Council. Designed by Cr8 Architecture and built by BAM Construction, the facility includes an eight court sports hall, two squash courts, 600sq m gym, four fitness studios, and athletics track. The new centre is part of the council's £40m investment in local leisure facilities. It also features three swimming pools including a six-lane 25m competition

London's Hackney Council has rejected a planning application for an £18.9m redevelopment project at the Geffrye Museum. The museum, which examines the changing face of middle class homes in England over the past 400 years, appointed David Chipperfield Architects to increase its capacity, which it says is stretched to the limit. The plans included a two-storey extension, new gallery, library, collections and archive stores, conference suite, restaurant, and a new

Plans for a £10m heritage theme park attraction in Margate, Kent are back on track, following a High Court ruling against a legal challenge that would have prevented the development. Judge Sycamore dismissed a legal challenge by current owners, Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, over the decision to grant the council ownership of the site. The secretary of state for communities and local government gave the council approval for compulsory

A new development featuring Europe's tallest hotel is underway on a man-made island that will be connected through a glideway and overseas walkway with the city of Barcelona, Spain. The Barcelona Island project has entered the next phase following an agreement between investment company Apogee Investors and Mobilona LLC to manage the financing. With the initial investment projected at €1.5bn (US$2bn, £1.3bn), Mobilona plans to construct the first of its

Construction has started on the new Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills in Plymouth, Massachusetts, US. Designed by Boston architectural-firm Arrowstreet in the style of a French manor house, the 50-room getaway includes the 14,000sq ft (1,301sq m) Spa Mirbeau, which will offer massages, body wraps, scrubs, facials, manicures, pedicures, and couple treatments. It will also feature yoga and fitness studios, aerobic exercise equipment, eucalyptus-infused steamrooms and an outdoor

Westminster City Council and Willmott Dixon have announced £19m proposals for sports and leisure in the north west of the borough, which will deliver a 40 per cent increase in facilities. The plans include a new Moberly Sports Centre with two swimming pools and large sports hall and gym, and a new sports facility at Jubilee Leisure Centre. The cost will be entirely funded by Willmott Dixon, which will develop

Cheshire West & Chester Council has approved £15m plans for a new sports and leisure village in Ellesmere Port. To be built on the former Stanney High School site, the village would include: an eight-court badminton hall with seating capacity for 1,400; an eight-lane competition pool; and an 80-station gym. The leisure offer would meet the town's predicted needs in growth and usage until at least 2030, however, the council

Vivanta by Taj has reopened its Bentota resort in Sri Lanka following an US$12.5m (9.5m euro, £8m) redevelopment of the property. The resort's new look, by Malaysia-based interior designer Nic Proud, has been described as a "blend of contemporary style with colonial charm". The centrepiece of the redesigned resort is the 7,500sq ft (700sq m) Jiva Spa, which houses six treatment rooms. Located adjacent to the main resort, the free-standing,

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa will open in Kuwait on 7 May - the first Jumeirah hotel in the Gulf region outside the United Arab Emirates. Designed by New York's Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the luxury beachfront development includes 316 rooms and suites, 80 residential suites and 12 villas with views of the hotel gardens. The 3,500sq m (37,674sq ft) Talise Spa includes 17 treatment rooms and two private

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has officially opened its new Shanghai resort in China. Located on the banks of Huangpu River, Mandarin Oriental Pudong is housed within Harbour City, a new 62-acre waterfront destination developed by Shanghai Rui Ming real estate company. The resort, which occupies 111,000sq m (1,195,000 sq ft), features 318 guestrooms and 44 suites along with 210 executive apartments, designed by architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica. Presidential suites

Aberdeen Art Gallery has revealed £30m plans to redevelop its premises, landing Heritage Lottery Fund support to progress the project. Designed by Glasgow architects Gareth Hoskins, the redevelopment would restore and modernise its buildings, bring to life its internationally significant permanent collections, expand temporary displays and enhance the visitor experience. It would also raise the prominence of the gallery's War Memorial building - the current focus of the annual Act

Plans to transform part of East Manchester with new sports and community facilities have been granted council approval, with work due to begin later this year. The joint venture between Manchester City Council, Manchester City Football Club and urban regeneration company New East Manchester will see a 16-acre site in Beswick redeveloped with a new leisure centre, pool and school. A sports research centre, offering academic research and diagnostic facilities,

Popular UK attraction The London Dungeon, operated by Merlin Entertainments, has reopened at a new location on the city's South Bank following a £20m investment. Adjacent to two other Merlin Entertainments attractions - the London Eye and Sea Life London Aquarium - it boasts 18 shows, using actors within detailed sets, and two thrill rides. Features include a "medieval" lift, Guy Fawkes conspirators show, a maze set in Jack the

Hyatt has announced a Grand Hyatt hotel is planned for Changsha, Hunan Province in central China. The 324-room hotel will include a spa, as well as fitness facilities, pool, meeting and banquet facilities, and restaurants and bars. It will occupy the upper floors of a 268m-tall skyscraper, located in a mixed-use complex – The Central – and expected to become the new landmark of Changsha. The hotel is currently being

Restaurant group Nobu has officially opened the first Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, US. The 181-bedroom property – a collaboration between Caesars Palace, chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Nobu Hospitality primary shareholders, actor Robert De Niro and film producer Meir Teper – has been designed by New York-based David Rockwell, who has fused Japanese and Asian traditions with Western influences. Guests staying at the hotel can take advantage

The British Museum has revealed it is progressing on schedule for the opening of its new £135m exhibition space, due to open in March 2014. Construction on the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre (WCEC) began in autumn 2011 in the north-west corner of the museum's central London estate. The redevelopment project is one of the largest in the museum's 260-year history and will include a new public exhibition gallery, state-of-the-art

London's Science Museum has revealed details regarding its communications gallery Information Age, due to open in September 2014. The £15.6m space will include interactive displays and reveal personal stories about how human life has been transformed by communication innovations over the past 200 years. Covering a space of 2,500sq m - the largest exhibition space in the museum - the gallery will be divided into six zones focused on transformative

Turkish design hotel Marti Istanbul has unveiled Marti Wellness by Spa Soul on the top floor of its property. With views over the city the spa offers five treatment rooms, steamrooms, sauna, two private marble hammam rooms and a Roman bath in an 850sq m (9,149sq ft) Ottoman-inspired space. In addition to traditional Turkish treatments, including the Turkish Hammam Bath, the spa menu includes algo-radiance facials and foot acupressure. Those

The Spa at Williams Island, Florida, has reopened following a US$5m (4m euro, £6m) refurbishment, as part of a US$10m (8m euro, £6m) revamp of the 84-acre community. The 27,000sq ft (2,508sq m) spa will offer therapeutic facial, massage and body treatments, a 60ft indoor lap pool, steamroom, sauna, whirlpool and cold plunge pool. Massage treatments include hot stone, reflexology and spine stretch Breuss massage. Spa product lines will include

Premier Rides, the ride support division of Premier Service, has been selected by Ocean Park Hong Kong theme park to provide new ride technology and technical services and support for multiple rides over an extended period of time. Premier and Ocean Park will work together to incorporate elements such as the latest in new ride technology into existing legacy rides. The upgrades will include the incorporation of controls and braking

San Francisco's Exploratorium science museum officially unveiled its US$300m (228m euro, £197m) expansion at Pier 15 on the city's waterfront on 17 April. The museum now has 330,000sq ft (30,658sq m) of floor space - trebling the footprint it had at its former home at the Palace of Fine Arts. It will display more than 600 exhibits. Established in 1969, the museum is dedicated to science, art and human perception,

London-based architects Carmody Groarke have submitted a planning application to the Lake District National Park to redevelop the Windermere Steamboat Museum into a heritage attraction. The £13.4m museum development will include exhibition space, a wet dock to display heritage boats and a conservation workshop open to the public. Highlights of the collection will include: steam launches of the 1890s and 1900s; SL Dolly (1850) - the oldest mechanically powered boat