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

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

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

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

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

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

Work on a new £46.5m regional sports and leisure complex in Plymouth, Devon, could start next month if the appointment of Balfour Beatty as the main contractor is approved by Plymouth City Council (PCC). A report due to go before the council's cabinet on 19 January has recommended that the London-based construction company from a shortlist of five to deliver the new Life Centre, which has been designed by Archial.

A new fitness suite is set to open this month at Ealing Squash and Fitness Club in London, following the completion of a £450,000 scheme to expand the site's existing gym facility. The fitness suite has doubled in size from 1,800sq ft (167.2sq m) to 3,600 sq ft (334.4sq m) after three existing squash courts were converted to create a new two-level facility with free weights zone. Life Fitness has

Cherwell District Council (CDC) has announced the opening of the new £15m Spiceball Leisure Centre in Banbury, Oxfordshire, which has been completed on budget ahead of schedule. Initially due to open in January 2010, the new centre replaces the former Spiceball Park Leisure Centre and forms part of a wider sports centre modernisation programme in the local area, which is being led by Cherwell Community Leisure (CLL) - a wholly

An énergie-branded health club has opened in a property which formerly housed a McDonald's fast food restaurant. The club in Forest Hill, south London, is owned and operated on a franchise by David Waugh and Andrew Grossett. The pair have invested £260,000 in the venture and facilities at the club include a range of cv stations and 11 pieces of resistance kit supplied by Precor as well as a large

A problem with the installation of fire dampers at the new £25m Leisurezone leisure complex in Harlow, Essex, has forced the opening of the facility to be put on hold. Forming part of the wider Harlow Gateway regeneration scheme, it had been hoped that Abingdon-based contractor Leadbitter would handover the venue to the Gateway partners by Christmas 2009. However, the latest estimate for the "practical completion" of the Leisurezone centre

Construction work has started on a £850,000 redevelopment of the Swan Centre for Leisure in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, which is to be delivered in three stages. The first phase of the scheme, which is being managed by operator Tees Active, will see Createability convert an existing 500sq m (5,382sq ft) soft play area into a new 65-station gym equipped with Technogym cv and resistance equipment. Scheduled for completion by January 2010,

East Northamptonshire Council (ENC) has announced it has reached an agreement with a local rugby club over the proposed site of a new £13m leisure centre in Rushden. Rushden and Higham Ferrers Rugby Club had voiced concerns that the Manor Park plans would result in the loss of its pitches, but ENC has now struck a deal with the club to provide two pitches as part of the scheme. ENC

Designers have been appointed for a new swimming pool project in Millom, Cumbria. Cambridge-based architects Saunders Boston have been awarded the contract for the facility, which will replace the town’s current pool at a local school. The project is the brainchild of the Millom and Haverigg Economic Development Group. Acting chair, Roland Woodward, was quoted by the North West Evening Mail, as saying: “This is the first major step forward

Westminster City Council (WCC) has confirmed that the Marshall Street baths in central London will reopen to the public in 2010. Redevelopment work on the site, which has been closed since 1997 due to safety fears, began in August 2008. The £25m revamp is being carried out by Marshall Street Regeneration company. SG Interior Exterior is acting as the construction manager for the project and it will continue to oversee

The University of Ulster is planning to build a £7.6m sports centre on its Coleraine campus. Architects GM design have been commissioned to design the project, which is to be built near to existing student residences. Professor Robert Hutchinson, provost of the campus, said: “The exciting project represents the largest single investment ever on the Coleraine campus for student support. “As well as enhancing our campus sports facilities, the new

Work has started on a £479,000 scheme to refurbish the Fore Street Pool in Ipswich, Suffolk, as part of Ipswich Borough Council's (IBC) £4m investment in local swimming facilities. The 114-year-old swimming pool, which is one of the oldest operating facilities in the country, will benefit from new floors in the changing rooms, new lighting and vending facilities and a complete redecoration of the building's interior and exterior. Construction company

A new £4.5m sports and community complex, which has been designed to incorporate a number of environmentally friendly features, has opened to the public in west London. The Little Venice Sports Centre on Crompton Street, which is the only venue in the area to be accredited by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI), includes four badminton courts, a large sports hall with underfloor heating and a multi-purpose dance and exercise studio.

The £10m Amphitheatre Wellness Centre in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, is to open on 17 August. Designed by Given Architects, the centre will boast an “Olympic-standard” fitness suite supplied by Technogym, a floodlit synthetic sports pitch, squash courts, a synthetic tennis court, a 25m swimming pool, a soft-play area and a multi-purpose sports hall for badminton, five-a-side football, netball, basketball and gymnastics. The centre was built on the site of the

The £12m leisure centre planned for Matlock, Derbyshire, looks set to be given the green light by Derbyshire Dales District Council. As previously reported in Leisure Opportunities, the centre is set to include an eight-lane, 25m swimming pool, two sports halls, a dance studio and a fitness suite. However, the designs – created by Dyer Architects – have come under fire from both Matlock Town Council and Matlock Civic Association,

A new £20m Olympic-sized swimming pool, which has been included as a potential training facility for teams ahead of the London 2012 Games, has officially opened in Corby, Northamptonshire. The 50m Corby East Midlands International Pool was unveiled by Olympic swimmer Mark Foster on 24 July and is equipped with moveable floors and booms to accommodate international junior diving events and short and long course races. Designed by S&P Architects,

A £13m leisure centre will be built at Manor Park in Rushden, Northamptonshire, to replace outdated facilities at the Splash Leisure Pool and the Pemberton Centre. The scheme will comprise a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool and a teaching pool, as well as a four court sports hall, dance/exercise studios and a health and fitness suite. The facility will be project managed by global consultants Mace, whose previous projects include the

Dollan Aqua Centre in East Kilbride is set to undergo a £7m overhaul. The leisure centre closed its door to the public last year when a routine inspection revealed that the concrete structure of the Grade-A listed building had deteriorated. Immediate structural repairs determined in consultation with Historic Scotland will be carried out by Paisley-based Clark Contracts, with completion scheduled for winter 2010.

Barr Limited, the Paisley-based construction company, has been appointed by Fife Council as the main building contractor for the £17m refurbishment of Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline. Work at the facility, which will undergo an internal and external renovation as part of the revamp, will form part of the council's wider £50m scheme to improve leisure facilities in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. Plans for the upgraded Carnegie Leisure Centre include

Billingham Forum has closed to the public in order to allow construction work on a £15m refurbishment scheme to get underway at the leisure complex, which is expected to last for 18 months. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) and operator Tees Active are working in partnership on the revamp, which will include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool with a new training pool and existing learner pool and structural improvements to the

Plans for a £187m leisure and public services complex in Wigan, Greater Manchester, have been given the green light after the local authority reached an agreement with private sector partners. Construction work on the new Wigan Life Centre, which will be located on the site of the former Wigan International Pool, is expected to get underway in early July after Wigan Council's project team secured a deal with the Access

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick, the Dutch-owned construction company, to deliver the £11m refurbishment of Leatherhead Leisure Centre in Surrey. Construction work got underway on the 22-month scheme in April after the council approved plans drawn-up by A+G Architects, which include a new 438.6sq m (4,721sq ft) fitness suite incorporating 100 stations and a 343.4sq m (3,696sq ft) soft play area. A new, outdoor multi-use games area,