A new public competition has been launched by Luton Borough Council (LBC), Active Luton and Wates Construction in a bid to find an official name for the town's new £26m aquatic centre. Designed by S&P Architects, the new Stopsley complex will comprise a 50m, eight-lane pool with integrated diving area; a high-dive training centre; and a 20m x 10m community pool. A multi-purpose sports hall; a 100-station fitness suite; two

Leisure trust Tone and development partner Createability have commenced work on a major £900,000 upgrade of the facilities at Churchill Sports Centre in North Somerset. Alliance Leisure is overseeing the delivery of the project, which will boast a 35-station gym; two studios; and a dry changing area. A £300,000 all-weather pitch is also planned. The reception area at the dual-use site is to be remodelled to provide separate entrances for

A gala event has helped mark the official opening of a new Playboy Club on Old Park Lane, Mayfair - 35 years after Hugh Hefner's iconic brand first made its London debut. London-based Jestico + Whiles are behind the design of the 17,000sq ft (1,579sq m) venue, which has been developed by London Clubs International and Playboy Enterprises. Facilities at Playboy Club London feature a Gentlemen's Tonic salon; high-limit salon

Bath's Holburne Museum has been officially reopened by artist Sir Peter Blake, following the completion of an extensive £11.2m refurbishment of the attraction. An extension designed by Eric Parry was at the centre of the redevelopment scheme, which has doubled the available display space and provided bespoke education facilities. Top-lit galleries for temporary exhibitions have also been constructed as part of the project, which received funding support from the Heritage

Work is due to start on Wakefield ONE - a new £10m swimming pool and fitness complex in Wakefield - today (6 June) as part of the local authority's wider regeneration plans. Willmott Dixon Construction has been chosen to build the NPS North East-designed venue, which will be located on Sun Lane and is due for completion next summer. Drivers Jonas Deloitte is also involved with the scheme, which will

A new art gallery and youth hostel has officially opened in Berwick-upon-Tweed, following the completion of a £5m refurbishment of the Grade II-listed Dewar's Lane Granary. In addition to the exhibition space and 55-bed hostel, the six-storey property also includes a modern bistro; meeting and conference rooms; and an outdoor courtyard seating area. The Berwick Preservation Trust (BPT) led the restoration programme, with One North East and the government's now-defunct

Cambridge Arts Theatre has unveiled plans for Act Two - a £12m construction project that is to include a new foyer and performance spaces in a bid to safeguard its future. Proposals would bring about a series of improvements to the venue's front-of-house areas, with the potential for creating additional bar and catering income streams. A 200-seat studio theatre on the fourth floor of the property has also been proposed,

Wyre Borough Council (WBC) has held a turf-cutting ceremony ahead of the start of work on a £1m scheme to revitalise Fleetwood's Marine Gardens in Lancashire. The construction phase of the project is due to start in the week commencing 13 June and is part of a wider regeneration work being carried out under the Sea Change banner. BCA Landscapes and contractor William Pye will deliver the transformed Marine Gardens,

Sanguine Hospitality has announced that the new £15m Hotel Indigo Liverpool, a 151-room boutique property located on Chapel Street, is to open its doors to guests from 6 June. The new hotel, which also features a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill, has been designed to reflect the area in which it is situated and the city's cotton trade heritage. Sanguine Hospitality will own and operate the property under

One of the largest public artworks commissioned in Northern Ireland - the 37.5m (123ft)-tall RISE - is nearing completion above Belfast's Broadway roundabout. The work has been produced by Nottingham-based artist Wolfgang Buttress and features two globes - one inside the other - to symbolise the rising of the sun. Rasharkin-based M Hasson and Sons has manufactured the 65,000 individual parts that comprise the globes, with construction work due for

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction work on a new home for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, US. The attraction has confirmed that it has already raised US$508m (£308m) towards the total US$720m (£436.5m) cost of the Renzo Piano-designed scheme. Forming part of a public-private regeneration of Manhattan, the new 200,000sq ft (18,581sq m) museum building is to be constructed

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, Australia, has announced that it is to reopen in March 2012, following a AU$53m (£34.2m, EUR39.2m, US$56.5m) overhaul. Work started on the redevelopment project last August, with architect Sam Marshall and the New South Wales Government Architect behind the design of the new-look attraction. An additional 4,500sq m (43,438sq ft) of space will be created as part of the project and will

Solmar Hotels and Resorts has officially opened the new Grand Solmar Land's End Resort and Spa on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in Cabo San Lucas. Dallas, US-based architects HKS and interior designer Arquitectura De Interiors worked on the new resort, which is the family-owned operator's fifth property in Cabo San Lucas. Guests at the 119-suite resort will be able to use Playa Grande's Thalassotherapy spa centre, which

Plans for a major new £50m regional leisure complex in Weston-super-Mare - housing the UK's largest indoor real snow ski slope - have been submitted to North Somerset Council. LeisureDome will form part of St Modwen's Locking Parklands development and will also feature an indoor climbing centre; a health club; a children's activity zone; and a crèche. London-based consultancy GVA has submitted plans on behalf of LeisureDome (UK), with a

Plans for Ark Encounter, a US$150m (£92.1m, EUR106m) Creationist-themed amusement park in Kentucky, US, have secured a tax boost from the state's tourism authority. Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority have approved plans to grant the project up to US$43m (£26.4m, EUR30.4m) worth of sales tax incentives towards its creation. The decision was taken after analysis produced by Hunden Strategic Partners (HSP) found that the development met the criteria set out

Huw Watson and Helen Rogers, the new owners of The Malvern hotel, spa and health club in Worcestershire, have announced plans to further grow the business. The pair had been overseeing the running of The Malvern since September 2010 and have introduced new spa treatments, branding initiatives and special events. A second swimming pool and 30 additional rooms are now to be added as part of plans for the redevelopment

The National Forest Company (NFC) and the Forestry Commission have confirmed that the £1.5m National Forest Cycle Centre is to open at Hicks Lodge near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, on 1 June. Purple Mountain has been appointed to run the complex, which features a visitor centre and 8 miles (12.9km) of off-road cycling trails. A café and a play area have also been created. The glass and timber visitor centre has been

Rocco Forte Hotels has confirmed that its new flagship Middle East property in Abu Dhabi - the first to bear the name of the group's chair and CEO - is to open by the fourth quarter of 2011. The 281-bedroom Rocco Forte Hotel Abu Dhabi will offer one of the emirate state's largest spas, covering 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) and offering separate facilities for men and women. Facilities at the

Hepworth Wakefield - one of the largest purpose-built art attractions to open in the UK for around 50 years - has welcomed its first public visitors in West Yorkshire. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the £35m gallery is run by an independent trust and aims to commemorate the work of local-born sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The 5,000sq m (53,819sq ft) attraction also houses the city's permanent collection of 6,000 art works

Plans for a major new sports complex in Lewisham, South London, have moved forward with the formation of a new foundation to oversee the delivery of the project. Former transport minister and London mayoral candidate Steve Norris will chair the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, which will ensure long-term sports provision for the site. An indoor regional centre of sporting excellence - Surrey Canal: London's Sporting Village - will be at

Rubicon Group Holding (RGH), a Jordan-based diversified entertainment organization, has announced that it has been appointed to design and produce The Red Sea Astrarium (TRSA), a 184-acre themed entertainment resort located in Aqaba, Jordan. The US$1bn (714m euro, £640m) resort will be anchored by a Star Trek theme park, which will be developed by Paramount Recreation. According to a statement from RGH, the Star Trek attraction will deliver a variety

The £38m Basildon Sporting Village has been officially opened by The Duke of Gloucester. The S&P Architects-designed complex will boast the county's first Olympic-sized swimming pool and a 24.2m x 10m (79.4ft x 32.8ft) climbing wall, as well as a 100-station fitness suite. Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) has been appointed to operate the facility under its Everyone Active brand - part of a wider leisure management deal with Basildon

A number of leisure schemes have been included among the 97 UK and European projects to be named as winners of the 2011 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards. The RIBA Awards are designed to recognise "architectural excellence" and comprised 89 properties in the UK and a further eight across the European Union. Among the 2011 winners is the new £112.8m home for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon,

A new multi-million euro cultural attraction - Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) - has opened its doors to the public in Antwerp, Belgium, following a four-year construction process. Netherlands-based Neutelings Riedijk Architects was appointed by Antwerp City Council to design the new museum in 2000, with B-architecten chosen to lead the interior design. Covering a total surface area of 6,600sq m (71,042sq ft), the museum also features pavilions and a

Silverstone Circuits and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) have launched a new pit, paddock and conference complex - the Silverstone Wing - at the Northamptonshire venue. The multi-million pound development boasts 41 garages; a race control building; a podium; a media centre; and hospitality and VIP spectator areas for motor racing events. Facilities also include three large halls; conference space; a business centre; and a 100-seat auditorium, with the

LPA has been selected by the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum/ExplorOcean design and construction committee to draw up plans for a new waterfront facility in Newport Beach, California, US. The architectural practice has been appointed to design the Core Building Shell and Site phase, including the concept; planning and design; and schematic design. Meanwhile, The Hettema Group has also been chosen to provide concept design; exhibition themes; and unifying project elements

Ireland-based operator Maldron Hotels has expanded into the UK with the launch of a 216-bedroom property in Cardiff - part of a wider scheme led by Rush Developments. The new 12-storey hotel has been built on the site of the former Central Hotel, near Cardiff Central railway station, and has been designed by Belfast-based White Ink Architects. Delivered by McAleer and Rushe, the £25m project was funded by Cardiff's Julian