Construction work is now underway on Nottingham's new £9m Victoria Leisure Centre, which has been designed by architects Levitate. Parts of the former facility, which shut on 1 April, have already been demolished in order to allow for the start of the construction phase. A six-lane, 25m family swimming pool with separate children's pool and fun splash play area will feature at the heart of the development, along with fitness

Hertfordshire-based Willmott Dixon has been appointed by Lewisham Council to deliver a new leisure centre in Forest Hill, South London. Work is due to commence on the Roberts Limbrick Architects-designed facility in January, which will replace the existing Forest Hill Pools and feature a 25m main pool. A 16.7m learner pool; a fitness gym; two studios; a community room; and a café will also form part of the centre -

Chef Marcus Wareing will open a flagship restaurant at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London in London’s Kings Cross. To be called Gilbert Scott - after the architect who designed the 1873 Victorian St Pancras building - the 120-cover, 6,700sq ft British brasserie will be Wareing's second in London. The building – including the restaurant – is due to reopen as the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel on 5 May. David

Oxfordshire-based developer The Leadbitter Group has commenced work on the construction of a new £8m leisure complex in Dorchester, Dorset. Dorset County Council and West Dorset District Council (WDDC) are working in partnership on the scheme, which is scheduled for completion in 2012. Facilities at the Dyer-designed Dorchester Sports Centre will include a six-lane swimming pool with spectator gallery; a 60-station fitness suite; a dance studio; and a changing village.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) has criticised a lack of public funding support for the proposed £450m redevelopment of its White Hart Lane ground. According to chair Daniel Levy, the Premier League club had not been awarded any public cash to progress the plans, which have been revised at a cost of £50m. Levy said that Arsenal Football Club had received assistance to develop a new stadium at Ashburton Grove,

Thermarium, the Austria-based spa designer and manufacturer, is looking to expand further into the US market. The company, which specialises in the construction and assembly of spa facilities, has been involved with a number of European and Asian schemes. Now, according to senior consultant Mario Stiefler, Thermarium is looking to grow its US-based business having already worked on a handful of projects, including two in Las Vegas. Stiefler has been

The next phase of a scheme to redevelop Gateshead International Stadium remains 'on track' to be completed in the New Year. S&P Architects are working with Gateshead Council on the current phase of work, which will include a new building to house a reception, catering and teaching space. Existing changing and toilet accommodation is also being upgraded as part of the work, which commenced on 6 September. The £7.6m redevelopment

Sedgemoor District Council (SDC) has 'reaffirmed' its plans to develop a swimming pool alongside the new Chilton Trinity School in Bridgwater, Somerset. Pressure group Bridgwater Forward had petitioned the council to scrap the current plans in order to investigate the possibility of building the new facility at the Northgate site. However, SDC has reiterated its plans to pursue the Chilton Trinity scheme in partnership with BAM Construction as part of

Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) has agreed to proceed with proposals for a £6m overhaul of the Aqua Vale Swimming and Fitness Centre in Aylesbury. FaulknerBrowns Architects has been appointed by the local authority to draw up the plans, which include a new on-site healthcare facility and new dry changing facilities. A new gym - double the size of the existing offer; a retractable roof for the outdoor pool and

An entire Roman landscape has been discovered a few feet underground at Grade I listed Syon Park, West London. The find, by Museum of London Archaeology, followed excavations in August 2008 ahead of the construction of the new London Syon Park, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, set to open in early 2011. Revealed were a section of a road linking London with Silchester; a rural settlement; a tributary of the Thames;

University of Glamorgan has opened the doors to its new £3.7m coaching and performance facility. Designed by architects Holder Mathias, the dual-use centre includes a multi-purpose sports hall with six courts and an ancillary support block, a strength and conditioning lab for elite training, a lecture and meeting room, as well as a teaching facility with a notational analysis room. Built by Midas Construction and located at Glamorgan Sport Park,

Preparatory work is now underway in the Southwater area of Telford, Shropshire to clear the site ahead of a major £250m regeneration scheme. Tree works are being carried out around the edge of Southwater Lake and outside Meeting Point House to allow earthworks to be undertaken ahead of the main build phase. Telford and Wrekin Council (TWC) is yet to appoint a main contractor for the Southwater development, which will

A new multi-million pound leisure centre - designed by S&P Architects and built by Willmott Dixon - has been unveiled by Gateshead Council. Heworth Leisure Centre is the second of two new-build facilities to open as part of the council's wider £37m investment in local sport and leisure provision. The new complex boasts a Flowrider - the North East's first indoor surfing facility, in addition to a four-lane, 25m swimming

Exhibition and attractions designer Thinkwell Group has launched Studio Thinkwell - an in-house digital design and production studio. In addition to multimedia, online and mobile integration, Studio Thinkwell will design and develop digital experiences such as alternate reality games (ARG), interactive microsites and RFID tracking solutions. The move is part of Thinkwell's strategy to ensure it is able to continue to provide turn-key designs to operators who demand complex technological

Everton Football Club's (EFC) plans for a £9m retail and administration development at its Goodison Park stadium has been given the green light. Liverpool City Council has approved the Premier League club's proposals, which will have been drawn up by Formroom Architects for the Park End of the ground. Facilities will include a 900sq m (9,688sq ft) EFC retail shop; a museum; a café and a 'fan-focused hospitality lounge, as

The venue for the 2010 football World Cup final - Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa - has been named as the World's Best Sport Building. Designed by Populous and Boogertman + Partners, the 94,000-seat venue received the accolade at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. WAF Awards judges said of Soccer City Stadium: "It is a genuine example of a building forming deep and

Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) chair Baroness Ford has expressed hopes that the London 2012 site will provide a 'new piece of city' for the capital. Speaking at the Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) conference on 10 November, Ford said the Olympic Park was more than just about sports venues and parkland following the Games. According to Ford, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has the potential to have the

The US$150m (£93m) expansion of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, US, is to open on Friday 26 November. The five-storey, 100,000sq ft museum will boast three floors of core exhibition space, which will explore more than 350 years of American Jewish history, while another floor will be dedicated to changing exhibits. The concourse will be entirely devoted to education: with classrooms, a theatre and a resource

Artist Neville Gabie has been appointed by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) for a 16-month residency to deliver a number of schemes across the Olympic Park. Sam Wilkinson of InSite Arts has been named curator as part of the Arts Council England-backed initaitive, which aims to reach out to communities and the 2012 workforce. Gabie and Wilkinson will be tasked with delivering a series of participatory arts schemes that will

Basildon Council has unveiled designs for a new climbing wall that will form part of the entrance to the Essex town's new multi-million pound sports development. Plans for the 24.2m x 10m (79.4ft x 32.8ft) structure have been drawn up by County Durham-based Rockwords and will also include a 7.4m (24.3ft)-wide bouldering area. Kevin Blake, cabinet member for leisure and the arts at Basildon Council, said the facility would provide

Plans for a major £5.5bn redevelopment of London's Battersea Power Station have been given the green light by Wandsworth Council. Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has secured planning permission for the Rafael Viñoly-designed scheme, which includes a pledge of more than £200m towards the extension of the Northern Line. Battersea's Grade II*-listed power station building is to be restored as part of the plans, which include 700,000sq ft (65,032sq m) of

The University of Worcester's plans for a new sports and multi-purpose arena are due to be submitted to the local authority by the end of the month. Roberts Limbrick Architects are behind the designs of the proposed Worcester Arena, which is scheduled to launch in spring 2012 ahead of the London Olympics. It is anticipated that the complex will offer facilities for both elite performers and community groups, while also

Aldar Hotels & Hospitality has launched the ESPA spa at The Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi - in time for this weekend's title-deciding Formula 1 Grand Prix to be held on Yas Marina. Created by Heidar Sadeki of Richardson Sadeki architects, the spa's design was inspired by the traditional Hammam with a modern Arabian twist. The spa is divided into two floors - separating the male and female areas -

London-based Arab Investments' City and Country Hotels is to launch a new 36-suite luxury hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The Wellesley hotel will be marketed as the capital's first six-star hotel and will be developed at a cost of £36m by Fox Linton and Rhimesong. The property was formerly commercial offices in Arab Investments property portfolio. The hotel is scheduled to open in November 2012 and will include a 28-cover Italian

The University of Brighton has opened a new £6m sports centre at its Falmer Campus in East Sussex, which has been designed by S&P Architects. Leadbitter Construction was appointed to deliver the new facility, which replaces a former gymnasium that made way for Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club's stadium development. Facilities at the Falmer centre include 400sq m (4,306sq ft) main fitness suite and two 180sq m (1,938sq ft)

Broadway Malyan has been appointed lead a design team that will be drawing up plans for a revamp of Birmingham's National Indoor Arena (NIA). An eight-week feasibility study has now commenced in order to create a new-look brand for the entertainment and sports venue, which follows a £29m overhaul of sister site, the LG Arena. Turner and Townsend; Rodgers Leask; Capita; and InoxEquip will comprise the team in addition to

Construction work is due to commence on Blackpool's new £4m Southpoint Youth Hub, which has received funding from the government's myplace initiative. The demolition of an old building on the site next to Palatine School has already started, with the build process expected to get underway in January. Facilities at the new youth hub will allow local young people to participate in a number of arts, music and sports activities,