Archial — formerly SMC Charter Architects — has unveiled its designs for the £46.5m Life Centre in Plymouth. A full planning application has been submitted to the city council for the massive leisure scheme, which will be located in the city’s main parkland. Paul Weston, director of Archial, said: “This building is a major architectural statement in Central Park and will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the

Peebles High School is to get new dual-use sports facilities following Scottish Borders Council's (SBC) decision to commit £4.8m towards the scheme. The school is currently the only high school in the Borders region that does not have its own sports facilities, and the new centre will form part of the council's £40m investment in local education over the next five years. Plans for the new sports centre include a

Nordic Wellness, a new health club operation in Sweden, opened its first club on 7 January this year. Located in Gothenburg, the 570sq m club – which cost US$500,000 to build – targets a middle-aged audience with a wellness, rather than a fitness, philosophy. As owner Henrik Ask explains: “The club has a friendly, cosy environment. It’s hard to explain, but it feels more like a hotel than a gym.”

Leisure Connection has opened a Harpers-branded health club at a leisure centre in Wyboston, Bedfordshire, after completing a £0.5m revamp at the site. The new private health club at Wyboston Health and Fitness, managed by Leisure Connection, features equipment from Technogym and Star Trac as well as range of NXT spin bikes and a boxing fitness zone. The gym has been designed based on a zone layout system, with designated

Southwark Council has approved a £5.5m refurbishment plan to update Dulwich Leisure Centre. The grade II listed, 19th century building will benefit from an improved swimming pool area, a new gym and new wet and dry changing areas. Access for those with disabilities will be incorporated, including hoists into the pool, step-free access and a lift to the first floor studios. Green energy saving features like high-efficiency boilers, roof-mounted solar

Huntingdonshire District Council has begun the second phase of a £1.5m redevelopment of Huntingdon Leisure Centre. The centre, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, is undergoing a revamp which has already seen a new mezzanine floor being created across two existing sports courts. The new space houses an Impressions fitness suite, a soft play area and an interactive fitness space. The main part of the second phase will include the introduction of spa

A new multi-million pound sports centre could be built in Bexhill, East Sussex, after Rother District Council (RDC) agreed to appoint consultants to conduct a feasibility study into the plans. The new centre, which is to be situated on the town's Down site and could cost up to £18m, will form part of the council's scheme to consolidate the town's two existing leisure facilities into one single site by 2016.

Kirklees Council has unveiled the initial designs for a proposed new leisure centre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The £26m complex will be built on the Spring Grove car park in Springwood, and will form part of a wider regeneration project which includes the relocation of a Tesco supermarket to the site of the existing sports centre in Southgate. Proposals for the new centre, which is scheduled to open in Spring

Waverley Borough Council has announced amendments to its proposals to refurbish a portfolio of leisure centres in Surrey, following detailed surveys of the sites. Owing to the bad structural condition of the 37-year-old Godalming Leisure Centre, the council has now decided to allocate £2.6m worth of investment to replace the aging building with a new one. Waverley’s portfolio holder for leisure, cllr Roger Steel, explained: “The increased financial costs incurred

The redevelopment of Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline has received a funding boost after sportscotland agreed to contribute £1.1m towards the project. Fife Council is leading the scheme as part of a £50m investment in local sports facilities, which will also see the redevelopment of the Fife Institute of Physical and Recreation Education in Glenrothes, and a new swimming complex in Kirkcaldy. Designs for the refurbished Carnegie Leisure Centre have

Calderdale Council has appointed the Hertfordshire-based construction company, Willmott Dixon, to build two new swimming complexes in West Yorkshire. The £10.5m project will see new pools for the towns of Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse, which will be part-funded by the sale of Leeds-Bradford International airport in 2007. Architect Saunders Boston were behind the designs for the two new sites, both incorporating a 25m, six-lane swimming pool, a learner pool, and

Pure Leisure Group (PLG) has unveiled its proposals for a new £9.5m leisure complex at the 240-acre (97.1-hectare) Billing Aquadrome holiday park in Northamptonshire. The park has already undergone widescale upgrade works since it was acquired by PLG two years ago, and it is now hoped that the first phase of the new facility will be ready to open in September 2009 subject to planning consent. Under plans outlined by

Health club operator The Club Company has completed a £2m redevelopment of the Tytherington Club in Macclesfield. The nine-month project has added a third dance studio to the site, which will host mind-body classes, such as yoga and pilates. The most significant aspect of the project is the introduction of a poolside spa facility for adults. The spa, designed by interior designers Douglas Wallace, incorporates four treatment rooms, a large

Operator Edinburgh Leisure has released detailed designs of the £2.5m redevelopment of its Craiglockhart Tennis & Sports Centre in Scotland. The upgrade is part of the City’s Sport and Physical Recreation Strategy, which is intended to make Edinburgh the most physically active city in Europe by 2020. When complete, the centre will be extended by one storey and will feature squash courts, a new reception area, a fitness studio and

Work has begun on the £5m redevelopment of the University of Bradford Leisure Centre. The university is working with Cambridge-based architects Saunders Boston and Lotus Construction to revamp the sports and recreation facilities on its city centre campus. Chris Spargo, head of commercial services for the university, said: “This significant investment into new and redeveloped sports facilities not only provides a fantastic opportunity for the current and future student community,

The £250m Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre has opened in Bern, Switzerland. Designed by New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind, the new complex boasts 55 shops, 10 restaurants and bars, a 144-room hotel, a multiplex cinema, a fitness centre and a fun pool. Libeskind’s concept was to “create a public space with day and night facilities, a self-enclosed district offering endless amenities and services, almost like a city within a city”.

Work has commenced on the £7.6m remodelling of a large two-storey Marks & Spencer retail unit, which had been vacant for over three years, on High Road in Wembley, London. Designed by Brimelow McSweeney Architects for Dukelease Properties, the scheme will provide a leisure centre and two retail units while existing offices on upper floors will be converted into residential accommodation. The 1,345 sq m health club will be operated

The Peak Health Club, in London’s Jumeirah Carlton Hotel, has reopened following a major refurbishment programme. Zynk Design, which carried out the revamp, was given a brief to create a light, airy, contemporary space that would match the luxury of the five star Jumeirah hotel. The gym features large, curved windows, which provide views of London’s skyline and flood the space with natural light. Walnut floors, glass lacquered timbers and

Construction work on a new sports centre in Ealing, West London, which will replace the now demolished Northolt Swimarama, has begun. The development, which is estimated to cost around £15m, forms part of the council's local strategy to help combat the nation's obesity crisis by improving sport facilities. The new 5,500sq m centre, which is yet to be named, will feature an eight-lane, 25m swimming pool and 12m x 16m

The new Lammas Leisure Centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, is set to officially open on 1 November. Operated by Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) under its Everyone Active brand, the centre is being provided as part of a partnership with Ashfield District Council, which will run until 2016. The council has invested £16m in the Lammas Leisure Centre, which includes an ice-skating rink, a six-lane 25m swimming pool, a four-court sports

Construction work has begun on the £8.2m leisure centre and library in Maghull, Merseyside as part of an improvement scheme developed by Sefton Council and Maghull Town Council. Maghull Leisure Centre and Library, designed by GLR architects, will feature a five lane, 25m swimming pool and a learner pool as well as a fitness suite, a sauna, a steamroom and an aerobics studio. There will also be a fitness referral

Croydon council has given the go-ahead for a £5m extension and refurbishment of Selsdon Park Hotel & Golf Club in South Croydon, London. The 200-bed hotel, situated in 205-acres of parkland, is soon to acquire a new 88-bed, single-storey development and the existing leisure facilities will be converted into meeting and conference rooms. A new leisure club will also be created to replace the old facilities and will feature an

Restoration work has begun on the derelict Marshall Street Baths in Soho, London, as part of a £25m leisure centre development. The site, which first opened in 1852 and was closed nine years ago, is expected to reopen in 2010. When complete, the facility will include a restored main pool, a new gym and health suite with sauna and multi-purpose exercise studios. Part of the plans involve the second 70sq

The new £5.8m dual-use pool and fitness suite at Weald Recreation Centre in Billingshurst, West Sussex, is set to open 20 September. The project is part of a strategy to increase the number of swimming pools in Horsham to three. The Billingshurst pool will join Horsham's Pavilions in the Park swimming and leisure complex and Steyning Leisure Centre. To accommodate the new pool, Weald Recreation Centre – owned by Horsham

The £1.7m refurbishment of Saddleworth swimming baths in Oldham, Lancashire, is now underway. Saddleworth Pool, managed by Oldham Community Leisure, is due to receive a new 50-station fitness suite, dance studio and two five-a-side football pitches to join its existing flood-lit sports pitch. Cheshire-based design company Pozzoni has been appointed as the project's architects and plans to deliver a new entrance and reception area as well as reconfigured wet and

Plymouth City Council has appointed design and planning group Arup to create the £44m Life Centre, a new sports and leisure complex in the city's Central Park. Arup, which created the the $100m ($79m) Water Cube aquatics centre for the Beijing Olympics,was appointed along with the project's lead designers SMC Charter Architects, part of SMC Group. They will work with property consultants EC Harris and the council to manage the

The designs for London 2012's velodrome have been unveiled by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The VeloPark, as it will be known, was designed by Hopkins Architects – with Expedition Engineering, BDSP and Grant Associates – and will be based to the north of the Olympic Park. The facility will include a 6,000-seat velodrome for the indoor track cycling events and a BMX circuit. After the Games, a road cycle