A new £12.2m swimming pool and fitness complex - one of the largest to be built at a UK university - is expected to open at the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, in summer 2010. Hertfordshire-based construction company Willmott Dixon is building the new facility, which has been designed by the London-based architects behind the 2012 Olympic Aquatic Centre, S&P. Facilities at the new complex will include an eight-lane, 25m

London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a new X-shaped pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus, following the completion of a £5m scheme to reduce overcrowding. Tourists and shoppers will now have the chance to cross the junction in a diagonal direction in addition to the traditional straight ahead method as part of a design modelled on Tokyo's Shibuya crossing in Japan. It is hoped that the redesign of the junction where

Work has started on erecting the frame of the new Pavilion building on The Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare. More than 100 tonnes of steel per week will be used to form the structure of the new building, which has been designed by Bristol-based architect, Angus Meek. In total more than 1,100 tonnes of steel is being supplied by local firm Hayley Engineering for the project. Pier owner Kerry Michael said,

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford is set to reopen on 7 November, following the completion of a major £61m redevelopment at the attraction. A new 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) building - designed by London-based Rick Mather Architects - has been built to double the museum's existing display space and will comprise 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition spaces. Exhibition design company Metaphor has worked alongside

The largest cruise liner ever built, the Oasis of the Seas has left the Finnish city of Turku, where it was built, and has set off towards its future home port of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, US. The 260m (1,180ft)-long vessel will join the US-based Royal Caribbean International fleet later this month and will sail its full maiden voyage with passengers on 5 December following an official naming ceremony on

Construction work on a new 25,000-seat stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, US, which will provide a new home for New York Red Bulls, has reached a fresh milestone after the final piece of turf was laid. The Red Bull Arena has been designed by Los Angeles-based Rossetti Architects to be more in line with soccer venues across the world. Supporters will be seated 21ft (6.4m) from the pitch, fully covered

One of Gateshead's most iconic pubs is set to undergo a major revamp after the local authority agreed to help fund the restoration of the Grade II-listed property. The Central, which is situated in the town's Bridges Conservation Area, has been acquired by The Head of Steam pub chain and is now set to be fully revitalised by its new owners. Gateshead Council has contributed more than £142,000 from its

Plans by Tiger Developments for a £250m (US$409.2m, 276.7m euro) scheme in the centre of Edinburgh, which would have included a 17-storey, leaf-shaped Intercontinental Hotel and a Travelodge, have been turned down by the Scottish Government. Although passed by the city council in 2008, a public enquiry into the project - designed by Richard Murphy Architects and also featuring offices and retail space - found that the 17-storey hotel would

Plans for the creation of a new £13m urban park in the heart of Birmingham are set to receive the go ahead when Birmingham City Council's (BCC) cabinet meets on 2 November. Councillors will be asked to approve the final cost and the appointment of a contractor to lead the Eastside City Park scheme, which will be the first urban park developed in the city for more than 125 years.

New York City Council has approved the Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) proposal for a new 82-storey tower. The 1,050ft (320m) mixed-use tower, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, will be on West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, the same Manhattan block on which the museum already has its main exhibition area. MoMA says the museum will gain around 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) of new gallery space, a 30

Designs for the US$220m (£134m, 148.5m euro) Miami Art Museum in Florida, US have been revealed. The museum – designed by renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron – will be the centrepiece of the Miami Museum Park, which, as previously reported in Leisure Opportunities, will also feature the US$275m (£172m, 188m euro) Miami Science Museum, designed by British firm Grimshaw Architects. The museum will boast 200,000sq ft of programmable space,

Plans for the Northumberland Development Project, which will include a new 56,250-seat stadium for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) have been submitted to Haringey Council. The projected capacity of the stadium has been reduced from 58,000 after the club revised the plans to incorporate a new 63-row, single-tier stand, which it is hoped will create "the most atmospheric stadium in Europe". In addition to the proposed stadium, the multi-million pound

The 391-bedroom Trump SoHo New York hotel will open its doors in the city’s Lower Manhattan district on 1 February 2010. Designed by Handel Architects, the hotel will become the fifth site in the Trump Hotel Collection – a portfolio of luxury properties owned by US entrepreneur Donald Trump. Facilities at Trump SoHo New York will include a Spa at Trump-branded beauty spa, three high-end restaurants and more than 12,000sq

The Soaring Eagle Inn & Conference Centre in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, US is to be demolished and a new hotel and waterpark built in its place. The inn is owned by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, whose Migizi Economic Development Company announced the news. The three-star, 120-bedroom hotel will boast a bar and a restaurant that will overlook the existing golf course, as well as the 45,000sq ft indoor waterpark.

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, is to open a new 250-seat theatre, which forms part of its US$300m renovation. The Solomon Victory Theatre is the centrepiece of the renovation – which will quadruple the size of the museum – and will be officially opened on 6 November, alongside the Stage Door Canteen and the American Sector restaurant. The theatre boasts a 30ft tall sharkstooth scrim screen

Construction work has started on a £9m scheme to restore the Gwyn Hall in Neath, South Wales, two years after the venue was severely damaged by fire. Swansea-based contractor John Weaver has been appointed to carry out the scheme, the first stage of which includes stonework repairs, cleaning and re-pointing. The main restoration work is set to get underway in the New Year. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC)

Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels has opened the ninth of its Peninsula-branded hotels, in Shanghai itself. The first new building on the city's river front Bund in more than 60 years, The Peninsula Shanghai occupies a prime site on the Huangpu River beside the former British Consulate Gardens and the Suzhou Creek. The hotel features 235 guest rooms and suites, with four themed suites - the Astor, Majestic, Palace and

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has opened the Grand Hyatt Macau on the territory's Cotai Strip in the new City of Dreams development. The 791-guestroom hotel houses one of the largest event spaces in Macau and, with 15 individual function areas spanning more than 968,000sq ft (90,000sq m), Hyatt sees the hotel as becoming the leading MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) venue in the region. The 424 rooms and suites

A new report has concluded that there are no major issues preventing plans for the construction of a £40bn floating airport off the Essex and Kent coasts in the Thames Estuary. The feasibility study, which was carried out by the Thames Estuary Research and Development Company (TERDC), called for further studies to investigate the ecological impact of the scheme but found no "insoluble issues" to halt the proposals. London mayor

Plans to build a £2.9m dry ski slope and club house at Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex in Ayrshire have been approved. East Ayrshire Council gave the project the go ahead for two new dry ski slopes and a clubhouse designed by Lawrence McPherson Associates. The new 115m slope and 30m nursery slope will replace the existing slope, while the clubhouse will boast a café, a gym, changing facilities and

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

Plans for a £5.5bn mixed-use redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in south London have been submitted to the local authority by developer Treasury Holdings UK. Wandsworth Council will now decide whether to grant planning consent for the proposed redevelopment of the 40-acre (16.2-hectare) site, which has remained derelict since the 1980s after a series of failed attempts to regenerate the iconic Grade II*-listed building. A masterplan for Battersea Power Station,

Visitors to City Hall, London, will be given the chance to navigate through the completed 2012 Olympic Park as part of a new interactive exhibition opened by the Olympic Delivery Agency (ODA). In addition to a simulator of the Olympic Park, the exhibition includes models of the Olympic Park, the Olympic Stadium and the velodrome. Volunteers will staff the exhibition, which is scheduled to run for three weeks. ODA chair

Northern Ireland finance minister Sammy Wilson has announced that seven companies have been shortlisted to lead the £3m restoration of the Grade B-listed Cultra Manor in County Down. The Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) - acting on behalf of National Museums Northern Ireland - has now invited the shortlisted firms to tender for the contract to refurbish the manor, located at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. It is hoped that

Sports venue design company Populous has been appointed to the design team tasked with creating the main stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Populous will join Russian contractor Engeocom, and Botta Management as part of the design consortium responsible for the delivery of the 40,000-capacity venue. The announcement follows Populous' work in producing the master plan for competition and non-competition venues and facilities in Sochi, John

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

Construction work has got underway at the site of the new £38m Basildon Sporting Village in Essex, which will boast the county's first Olympic-sized swimming pool when complete. Community Solutions for Leisure (CSL) has been appointed to deliver the complex, which is included in the Pre-Games Training Camp guide for the London 2012 Olympics and is scheduled to open in 2011. The new sporting village, which will be built by