Hornsey Town Hall is set to be transformed into a major new multi-million pound arts centre in Crouch End, London, under proposals submitted by Haringey Council. Plans for the renovation of the Grade II*-listed building, which was initially designed by Reginald Uren and opened during the 1930s, have been drawn up by architects John McAslan and Partners. Capita Symonds has been appointed to project manage the Hornsey Town Hall redevelopment,

Hadley Wood Youth Trust (HWYT) has secured planning permission for new community sports facilities at Hadley Wood, north London. Designed by AndArchitects, the scheme will include the development of a full-size, floodlit artificial grass pitch, sports pavilion with four changing rooms, an education suite, kitchen, multi-function room and a number of grass pitches. As well as the local community, the facilities will be used by a number of further education

Efforts to renovate Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre have taken a step forward after Royal Court Liverpool Trust (RCLT) was awarded a 30-year lease to operate the venue. The trust will now be able to move forward plans to raise funds for a £10.6m renovation of the Grade II-listed building, following Liverpool City Council confirmed its decision on 26 March. Designs drawn up by London-based architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM)

More than 10 million litres of water are being used to test the three concrete pools at the London 2012 Aquatics Centre, which remains on track for completion in 2011. Testing of the dive pool and training pool has been completed, with the competition pool due to be filled before work starts to seal and line the pools with 180,000 tiles. Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said: "The

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, US, will open its 127,000sq ft (11,800sq m) extension to the public on 24 April. The new single-storey building, designed by New York-based Thomas Phifer of Thomas Phifer and Partners, was created specifically to showcase the gallery's permanent collection of more than 5,000 pieces of art spanning antiquity to the present day. Surrounded by sculpture gardens and pools, the expansion project will

Netherlands-based The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has won a competition for a major expansion to the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec (MNBAQ) in Quebec, Canada. The 12,000sq m new building, effectively three overlapping boxes, will be situated at the point where downtown Quebec City meets Battlefields Park and form the company's first built project in Canada. The design, led by OMA partners Shohei Sigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in

A new £19.1m tourist attraction is set to be created at the Olympic Park in London after plans for the 115m (377ft)-tall sculpture - the ArcelorMittal Orbit - were commissioned. London-based artist Anish Kapoor was selected by mayor Boris Johnson, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and ArcelorMittal chair and chief executive officer Lakshmi Mittal for the scheme. The sculpture - set to become the largest in the UK - will be

Olympic Stadium poised for Dubai move A consortium of Middle East-based investors have launched an audacious bid to move London's Olympic Stadium to Dubai after the 2012 Games. The Al-Shera consortium claimed the proposal would offer "an effective solution" to an ongoing debate over what the stadium should be used for in legacy mode. West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC) has already signalled its plans to move to the East

Architectural practice Foster + Partners has confirmed that the Hermitage Plaza mixed-use development for La Défense in Paris will open by the end of 2014. Designed by Foster + Partners, the twin tower buildings of Hermitage Plaza will take the form of interlocking triangles which face one another and enclose a large public piazza. As the towers rise, they will turn outwards to offer sweeping views across the city from

The city of Donetsk in the Ukraine is soon to be home to what is claimed to be the largest aluminium-domed waterpark in the world. Scheduled to open in August 2011, the dome over the Royal Marine Aquapark - a joint venture between the city of Donetsk and a consortium of private sector investors - is being built by Oakville, Ontario, Canada-based OpenAire, a specialist in retractable roofing systems. At

Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa have been awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture for 2010. The pair, who together own the SANAA architectural firm, were selected largely due to their design work on two museum projects - the O-Museum in Nagano, Japan and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. In a statement announcing the winners, the jury said: "The buildings by Sejima and

Britain's elite track and field athletes are set to be given a boost in their preparations for London 2012 with the installation of the Olympic track at two training locations. A replica of the Mondo FX track due to be installed at London's Olympic Stadium will be fitted at both UK Athletics' (UKA) National Performance Centres in Lee Valley and Loughborough. The London Marathon Charitable Trust's (LMCT) has agreed to

Work is due to get underway on the construction of a new multi-use sports pavilion in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which will become the new home of a number of clubs. A sod-cutting ceremony is scheduled to take place on 26 March to mark the start of work, which is due for completion in late summer. Designed by Norwich-based NPS Group, the facility will be built by construction group Irwins at

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

Contractors have been appointed for the US$275m (£172m, 188m euro) Miami Science Museum in Florida, US. Boston-based Suffolk Construction and San Francisco-based Webcor Builders have been awarded the contracts to develop the museum, which was designed by British firm Grimshaw Architects. The 250,000sq ft museum will boast a 35,000sq ft aquarium, a planetarium and 55,000sq ft of indoor and outdoor exhibition space. It will be part of a new Miami

Small and medium-sized leisure businesses should find it easier to secure bank loans and funding, according to plans outlined by chancellor Alistair Darling in today's budget announcement. The budget - the last by chancellor Alistair Darling before the expected general election in May - will see Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds make £94bn available in business loans. Darling added that "at least half" of this will be made available

A performance of Swan Lake by the Russian State Ballet has marked the official opening of the new Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Designed by Switzerland-based architect Daniel Libeskind and Dublin-based McCauley Daye O'Connell, the 2,111-seat venue forms the centre of the Grand Canal Square development. Chartered Land has delivered the theatre, which boasts seven bars, the Circle Club and a rooftop terrace bar and is operated by Live

Wyndham Hotel Group and Cardiff-based developer Bayscape have unveiled plans for the construction of a new £60m waterfront hotel in Cardiff Bay. The two companies have signed a 25-year management deal for the 32-storey Wyndham Cardiff, which will become the tallest building in Wales at 127m (417ft) high. Located on a site adjacent to the International Sports Village and the new 350-berth Cardiff Marina, the property has been designed by

Hotel operator Park Plaza has launched the art'otel Cologne in Germany. The new build, 218-bedroom property is the seventh in the art'otel portfolio of boutique hotels. Facilities at the hotel include the Chino Latino restaurant and six meeting rooms. The chain's unique selling point is the interior design, which includes a vast amount of original art being exhibited at each hotel. For art'otel Cologne, Park Plaza worked with the Korean-born

Plans for the development of a new £18.5m visitor centre at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, have received a £9.25m boost from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB). The funding announcement comes after the tourism agency reached an agreement with the National Trust (NT), which owns the attraction and plans to enhance the World Heritage Site's visitor experience. Dublin-based architects heneghan.peng are behind the designs for the new visitor centre,

Discover Greenwich, a new £6m cultural centre at the Old Royal Naval College on London's Thames riverside, has been opened by London Mayor, Boris Johnson. The new venue - scheduled to open to the public on 23 March and aiming to attract 1m visitors a year - uses state of the art interpretation techniques, never been seen before historic objects, rare artefacts, film footage and models in permanent and temporary

Disabled sports fans are set to benefit from improved access at three railway stations near to 2012 Olympic venues under plans confirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT). Slough, Wembley Central and Hackney Central stations are all set to be upgraded in time for the the London Games in order to offer step-free access under the Government's Access for All programme. Around £2.5m will be spent on upgrading Slough station,

An Aberdeen swimming pool complex, which was first opened in 1937 but was forced to shut in 2008, has been put on the market by the local authority. Property consultancy Ryden has been tasked with securing the sale of the B-listed Bon Accord Baths by Aberdeen City Council (ACC), which was designed by Alexander McRobbie of the City Architects Department. The two-storey centre on Justice Mill Lane includes reception areas,

Leeds City Council (LCC) has unveiled new images showing the internal layout of a proposed £80m entertainment venue, which will be built in the West Yorkshire city. The council revealed detailed design work is now at an "advanced stage" on the interior configuration of the Leeds Arena, which aims to provide an unobstructed sightline for each of a 13,500-capacity audience. Under the 'super theatre' proposals for the venue, the furthest

Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) has invited residents to submit their views on plans for the regeneration of the town centre as part of a public consultation due to close on 18 March. The council's Town Centre Area Action Plan outlines a framework for the future mixed-use redevelopment of the Hertfordshire town - one of the first to be designated under the government's New Towns Act in 1946. Leisure uses are

Plans for a major multi-million pound revamp of Old Trafford cricket stadium in Manchester have been given the green light by Trafford Council's planning committee. Government Office North West will now decide whether to formally approve the project, which has been put forward by the Old Trafford Partnership - comprising Ask Developments, Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) and Tesco. Plans for the transformation of a 50-acre (20.2-hectare) site include a

Bristol City Council (BCC) will determine whether to approve plans for a new 30,000-seat stadium at Ashton Vale after the government revealed it would not intervene in the process. Bristol City Football Club (BCFC) has welcomed the Government Office for the South West's announcement, which means the council will have sole responsibility for deciding the scheme's fate. Planning officers have already 'minded to approve' the development of the club's new