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

Plans to create a new business quarter as part of the proposed redevelopment of a 37-acre (15-hectare) site in the centre of Coventry have been submitted to the local authority. Friargate Coventry, the development vehicle for the Dublin-based property firm, Cannon Cannon Kirk, is behind the office-led scheme, which includes two new hotels, restaurants, bars and retail units. The plans, which have been drawn up by architects Allies and Morrison,

English Heritage has unveiled designs for the proposed new £25m visitor centre at Stonehenge after submitting a planning application for the scheme to Wiltshire Council. The facility, which is to be built 1.5 miles (2.4km) to the west of the historic site at Airman's Corner, has been designed by London-based architects Denton Corker Marshall to be environmentally sensitive to its surroundings. A pair of single-storey structures - one glass and

A new 192-bedroom hotel is to be included as part of a major mixed-use development in London's Docklands after plans for the complex were given the green light by mayor Boris Johnson. Tower Hamlets council had originally refused planning permission for the 63-storey Columbus Tower proposals, but the plans were called in after the mayor exercised special powers to decide the fate of the scheme. In addition to the hotel,

A major £40m development scheme is set to transform an area of central Bradford, West Yorkshire, after proposals received the go ahead from the local authority. An Odeon cinema situated on the corner of Prince's Way and Thornton Road is now set to be demolished in order to make way for the New Victoria Place project, which will include a 98-bedroom hotel, bars and cafés. Developer Langtree Artisan and regional

The University of Ulster is planning to build a £7.6m sports centre on its Coleraine campus. Architects GM design have been commissioned to design the project, which is to be built near to existing student residences. Professor Robert Hutchinson, provost of the campus, said: “The exciting project represents the largest single investment ever on the Coleraine campus for student support. “As well as enhancing our campus sports facilities, the new

Plans for a major £400m mixed-use development scheme designed to transform the centre of Reading has received outline planning consent from the local authority. Reading Borough Council (RBC) has backed Sackville Developments' proposals for Station Hill, which aims to regenerate a 5-acre (2-hectare) area situated adjacent to the town's railway station. Designed by architects Scott Brownrigg and Chapman Taylor, the plans include a new arts complex, a 5,400sq ft (500sq

An 18th century mansion house in Worcestershire where Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was handed his first major landscape gardening commission has been opened to the public. Croome Court in Severn Stoke, located between Worcester and Pershore, has been opened by National Trust (NT), which owns the site, for the first time in its history, having formerly been a school and a centre for the Hare Krishna movement. A 1751 scheme to

Gareth Hoskins Architects has unveiled the designs for Donald Trump's £1bn golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Trump International - Scotland golf complex on Menie Estate near Balmedie will include two 18-hole golf courses designed by golf architect Martin Hawtree, which will be separated by a clubhouse open to guests and visitors, a caddyshack, a short-game practice area and a driving range. Additional recreational activities will include an equestrian centre,

Swansea's city centre and waterfront areas are poised to undergo a major £38m transformation after the Welsh Assembly Government approved funding for the scheme. A £28m funding package, which includes £20m from the European Union's (EU) Convergence European Regional Development Fund, will go towards Swansea Council's Waterfront City initiative. Plans include the creation of a landmark European-style boulevard along the Oystermouth Road, Victoria Road and Quay Parade corridor to improve

A new Thomas The Tank Engine-themed park has opened in Shinmisato, Japan. Thomas Town Shinmisato – a joint venture between HIT Entertainment and Pleasurecast, the attractions division of Bandai Namco – is a 772sq m site located within the Lala Port Shinmisato shopping mall. The park boasts five-themed zones, with a Thomas dark ride, Cranky the Crane play structure, a museum, an education area and a café. Frank Foley, general

The Miami Science Museum has received planning permission for its new US$275m (£172m, 188m euro) home. Museum Park Miami will be a 40-acre park designed for both “active and passive recreation”, with two museums – The Miami Museum of Science and the Miami Art Museum – as well as lawns, public gardens, fountains and pools. The new museum has been designed by British firm Grimshaw Architects, with an aquarium designed

Duggan Morris Architects have been selected to design a new £250,000 pavilion, which is set to be built alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in South Sefton, Liverpool. The London-based practice's design for the building, which was chosen following an international contest, has been inspired by the profile of a canoeist in motion, and features a number of jetties stretching out into the canal. Arts Council England, North West, NewHeartlands

Work has started on the construction of a new £22.5m arts training and performance complex for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) in Cardiff. Willmott Dixon has been appointed to lead the development of the new facility, which has been designed by Hamiltons architects and is set to feature a 450-seat concert hall and a 160-seat courtyard theatre. An exhibition gallery and drama rehearsal studios will also

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction work on a new book storage facility for the Bodleian Library on the outskirts of Swindon, Wiltshire. Oxford University has acquired a 15-acre (6.1-hectare) site at South Marston for the high-density facility, which is expected to house eight million volumes of the library's low-demand items. The work forms part of a wider modernisation scheme at the New Bodleian