Plans for a new £50m leisure and retail development - designed by architects Marchini Curran Associates (MCA) - are to be considered by Daventry District Council (DDC). Developer Henry Boot said the Mulberry Place development in Daventry town centre would include 100,000 sq ft of town centre retail and leisure space, a six-screen cinema, together with an 80,000 sq ft food store and 40,000 sq ft of bulky goods on

Construction work on the £22m Aquatics Centre at the Aberdeen Sports Village has reached another landmark and the facility is on track to open in early 2014 - in time for the Commonwealth Games. Graham Construction, which is building the facility, has taken delivery of the centre's Olympic standard diving boards. The installation of the three, five, 7.5 and 10-metre boards is the last major structure to go in before

A Brazilian spa backed by The Body Shop co-founder, AOL's former president and two local entrepreneurs has officially opened in the heart of the country's Atlantic Rainforest. The Botanique Hotel & Spa, said to be the first 100 per cent Brazilian spa, features indigenous treatments, essential oils, therapies and rituals and an all Brazilian staff. Designed by Sao Paulo architects Colletivo de Arquitetos the spa covers 10,000sq ft (929sq m)

A government grant for rural development has partially funded the conversion of a former Durham garage into a quintessentially English spa. The Garage, at Greta Bridge in rural Teesdale, draws on its heritage as a refuelling and repairing point for some of the country’s first motorcars with guests offered “Tune Up Treatments” at the Body Shop and manicure or pedicure treatments at the Paint Shop. An exclusive product line made

Nottingham City Council has granted permission for the demolition of the city’s former Turkish Baths, built in 1928, to make way for a new link road. The application for demolition has now been referred to the secretary of state for a decision, with work to start in summer if it is given the go ahead. The baths are currently vacant but had been part of the Victoria Leisure Centre before

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has been appointed to design the temporary Serpentine Gallery Pavilion for 2013, which will open in London's Kensington Gardens in June. Fujimoto's design vision for the 350sq m space is a latticed structure with a semi-transparent appearance that will see it blend with the landscape and the gallery's colonnaded east wing. For the first time design firm AECOM will provide technical and engineering services for pavilion.

Planning permission has been granted for an 18,000-capacity stadium at Windsor Park in Northern Ireland, in the fastest turnaround ever for a major planning application. The Irish Football Association (IFA) submitted the application for two new stands and an extension of the north and west stands in early December and permission was granted in 11 weeks. The project is part of a £110m pledge by Northern Ireland sports minister Caral

Wyre Forest District Council has appointed S&P Architects to draw up outline plans for a new £10.1m leisure centre in the Worcestershire district, which will provide a cost-effective alternative to existing facilities. A council review into leisure provision in the region determined a new centre would save the council around £7.5m in maintenance costs over 30 years. Council cabinet member for community wellbeing Ian Hardiman said: "The district deserves a

Construction work of Center Parcs' new £250m village in Bedfordshire is on schedule for a spring 2014 opening. The company has now revealed the first artist's impressions and a 3D 'fly through' video of the Woburn Forest site, which will be Center Parcs' fifth UK village. The holiday village will comprise 625 forest lodges, a 75 bedroom hotel and an Aqua Sana-branded spa with six associated spa suites and two

Work has begun on the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA), which will open in 2016. More than US$95m (£61.4m, 71m euro) of the US$100m (£64.6m, 75m euro) campaign for the new facility was raised by private donations. Designed by New York City-based firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), the centre will feature "bold new architectural form," that will focus on “beauty and accessibility.” The

Scottish Football League team Berwick Rangers FC has commissioned a feasibility study into building a new stadium, which would see them move from their existing facility in Northumberland, by the English-Scottish border. The club is said to be negotiating the possible purchase of land nearby, also in Tweedmouth, which architecture and design firm Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) has been commissioned to complete a stadium feasibility study for. The Rangers' current

Work has started on a £6.3m development project at Lee Valley White Water Centre in North London as part of legacy plans for the London 2012 Olympic venue. Scheduled to be completed by early 2014, the works on the site will include improving the international competition-standard facilities with the creation of a new gym and physiotherapy suite housed in an extension to the existing centre. For non-competition users, there will

Plans have been unveiled to turn the former Loudoun Castle theme park site in East Ayrshire, Scotland, into an environmentally-friendly, £300m golf resort. Project management company Vicon UK has joined forces with investor FML to launch the ambitious masterplan, which proposes a world class championship standard 18-hole golf course, club house and educational golf academy as well as a new whisky distillery, homes, retail and a food and drink 'centre

A Minnesota-based construction firm has been selected to build a new $975m (£600m, 750m euro) Vikings stadium by the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority (MSFA). Local contractor Mortenson Construction has built more than 100 sports and entertainment venues and expects the new Minnesota Vikings stadium to be open for the 2016 football season. MSFA, which will own and operate the new stadium, chose Mortenson based on the company's national sports construction

Public donations of £35,000 raised in just over a week mark the end of a £35m appeal to fund a new home for Tudor warship the Mary Rose in Portsmouth. The museum was scheduled to open in autumn 2012 but a final fit out of interiors was to take longer than expected, and the attraction is now expected to open late spring. In addition to the restored ship, the boat-shaped

Animation studio DreamWorks – behind films such as Madagascar, Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon – has revealed it has entered a partnership to open three family theme parks across Russia by 2015. At 35m tall – the height of a 13-storey building – the entertainment attractions will be the largest indoor theme parks in Europe and will open in St Petersburg, Moscow and Yekaterinburg. Russian property developer REGIONS

The Queens Museum of Art (QMA) is undergoing a multi-million dollar expansion that will see its exhibition space double to 105,000sq ft (9,755sq m). Designed by architect firm Grimshaw, the new spaces will include additional gallery spaces, artist studios, education classrooms, a cafe, special events spaces, and administrative spaces. The expansion, which is due to open October 2013, is supported by the Office of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the

The Walkabout bar in Birmingham has reopened with a full redesign following a £1m refurbishment project. Located in Broad Street, the extensive revamp carried out by Walkabout owner Intertain includes a full redesign of the main bar in addition to the creation of three new bars. The investment also sees the creation of a "Reef Bar" with multiple projectors showing under-sea footage on linked screens, giving the Reef Bar the

The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, US, which has been 10 years in the making, will be unveiled in 2015. Located beside the Washington Monument on Washington's National Mall, the five-acre site will be devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. It was established as a Smithsonian museum by an Act of Congress in 2003. It is the only

University of San Diego's (USD) ballpark, which is home to Division I baseball team the Toreros, has undergone a US$13.8m (£8.6m, 10.3m euro) renovation. Led by specialist sports architects Populous, the newly renovated Fowler Park will seat 1,700 with the ability to expand to 3,000 for NCAA playoff events. The stadium renovation included the creation of five levels - an entry level with plaza space, a suite and press level,

PortAventura theme park in Spain is to relaunch its Caribbean-themed aquatic park following a 11.6m euro (£10m, UD$15.6m) extension project, which features the tallest toboggan in Europe. The Costa Caribe Aquatic Park project has seen the addition of 14,000 sq m (150,695 sq ft) of new facilities, giving the park a total surface of 50,000sq m (538,196sq ft). Located in Salou near Barcelona, the park is slated to open in

An American museum to house the country’s largest collection of armour and Cavalry objects has undergone a feasibility assessment and is now continuing its fundraising efforts. The $65m (48.28m euro, £41.52m) National Armor and Cavalry Museum is set to open in Fort Benning, Georgia, US, on a 30-acre site and will complement the existing National Infantry Museum. The first phase of building for the 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) facility is

Olympic stadium designers Populous have been selected to design the new French national stadium of rugby by the French Rugby Federation (FFR). Grand Stade FFR stadium, which is being developed by Paris-based architects Ateliers 2/3/4, will have a capacity of 82,000. Construction work will commence in 2015 with the project expected to be complete by the end of 2017. The FFR expect the venue to host 17-20 events a year,

Work has been launched to save Italian UNESCO heritage site Pompeii from further damage, with 41.8m euro (US$55.94m, £35.42m) of European Union funds contributing to the 105m euro (US$140.51m, £88.97m) restoration project. The purpose of the project is to preserve the site as a long-term tourist attraction, by consolidating structures on the archaeological site, introducing drainage and improving the training of on site staff. The attraction currently attracts 2.3m visitors

New Zealand's first treetop walk has opened in the country's South Island, following six years of scouting a location with suitable access, views and mature forest. The Westcoast Treetop Walk & Café, at Lake Mahinapua, is a 450m (1,476ft) long steel walkway 20m (66ft) off the ground and takes around an hour to stroll through. The surrounding bush includes native New Zealand species such as totara, rimu and kahikatea, and

London's BBC Television Centre in White City is to be redeveleoped into a cultural quarter that will include a hotel, entertainment and leisure facilities and public open space. For the first time, the television centre will be opened up to the public with the famous forecourt remodelled into new retail, leisure and entertainment areas. Property developer Stanhope is responsible for the project, which will see the main circular building, known

Surrey's Brooklands Museum is planning to reconfigure the museum's hangar as The Brooklands Aircraft Factory after securing a first-round pass for a £4.85m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project aims to relocate, restore and reinterpret the Weybridge museum's grade II-listed Wellington Hangar. The project includes plans to restore the hangar on a new site adjacent to its current one, allowing