Britain's oldest continuously working cinema, The Phoenix in East Finchley, is to receive a makeover after a £608,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery fund (HLF). The revamp of the grade II-listed building will include the construction of a bar or café, repair work to the auditorium including the original Mollo and Egan plaster wall panels and barrel vaulted ceiling as well as the extension of the mezzanine. The restoration is

Dollan Aqua Centre in East Kilbride is set to undergo a £7m overhaul. The leisure centre closed its door to the public last year when a routine inspection revealed that the concrete structure of the Grade-A listed building had deteriorated. Immediate structural repairs determined in consultation with Historic Scotland will be carried out by Paisley-based Clark Contracts, with completion scheduled for winter 2010.

Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) has appointed construction company Morgan Ashurt to build the first phase of a £200m redevelopment of Old Trafford cricket ground. The initial phase of the project, which has been designed by BDP Architects, includes the creation of a new £12m glass-fronted conference and events facility overlooking the cricket pitch, which will be able to cater for up to 1,000 people. <> Called The Point, the

Barr Limited, the Paisley-based construction company, has been appointed by Fife Council as the main building contractor for the £17m refurbishment of Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline. Work at the facility, which will undergo an internal and external renovation as part of the revamp, will form part of the council's wider £50m scheme to improve leisure facilities in Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes. Plans for the upgraded Carnegie Leisure Centre include

The Royal International Pavilion in Llangollen, North Wales, is set to be refurbished after receiving £1m from the Welsh Assembly Government in a bid to secure the future of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Denbighshire County Council (DCC) will also provide an additional £600,000 towards work to upgrade the structure of the venue, which attracts visitors and participants from all over the world as part of the annual cultural festival. Welsh

Doubts have been cast over the future of the proposed Merchants Quay development in Boston, Lincolnshire, after the developer behind the mixed-use scheme was placed into administration. Proposals put forward by Modus Eastern (Boston) for the 300,000sq ft (27,870.9sq m) West Street development included a new riverside restaurant quarter, a hotel and retail units, as well as more than 100 city-style apartments. However, the project has now been put on

Detailed designs for the London 2012 Athletes' Village, which will be used to provide affordable housing for Londoners in legacy mode, have been unveiled by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The plans include the construction of 11 residential blocks, which will offer a total of 17,000 beds for athletes during the Games, as well as open recreational space incorporating a jogging area and a Central Park area based on a

Plans for the construction of a new a multi-million pound indoor and outdoor events venue in Pontardawe, South Wales, have received a funding boost from the Welsh Assembly Government. The Arena Pontardawe community enterprise organisation is behind the scheme, which has received funding to cover the costs of a four-day consultancy with a revenue specialist to help update the project's business plan and develop financial forecasts. It is hoped that

An 80ft (24.4m) vertical pier is at the centre of new proposals unveiled by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) for the £30m transformation of Redcar's seafront. Plans drawn up by a team led by Harrogate-based landscape architects Smeeden Foreman were selected by the council following an international design competition. Seven Architecture, Arup and Davis Langdon are also involved with the scheme. Redcar's seafront defences are to be upgraded as

Abbeydale tennis club in Sheffield has undergone a £1.5m redevelopment. Work included the refurbishment of all eight courts, four of which are indoors, and the building of a new clubhouse designed by the Yorkshire-based architects Wildblood Macdonald. The facilities in the new clubhouse include changing rooms, refreshment facilities for members, a licensed bar, café, roof terrace and function room for special events. The revamp was funded by a £1m grant

Plans for the creation of a new £2.5m landform, which will be the centerpiece of a proposed 29-hectare (71.7-acre) public park at Shotton, near Cramlington, have been submitted to the local authority. Initial designs for the Northumberlandia scheme were drawn up by artist and designer Charles Jencks as part of the Banks Group's proposals for a surface mine development in 2006, which was eventually approved by the government. However, revised

Wave House International, the US-based operator of urban surfing venues, has unveiled plans to open its first European site at the Puerto Venecia retail and leisure complex in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2011. The Wave House Zaragoza will be a split indoor/outdoor facility at the heart of the leisure section of the 206,000sq m (2.2 million sq ft) development, including a FlowBarrel, restaurants, kava bars and a concert stage for live

Plans for the £77m transformation of Penrith town centre in Cumbria are back on track after Eden District Council (EDC) agreed a deal with supermarket Sainsbury's to revise the delayed project. The Penrith New Squares scheme will now be carried out in two phases, with the first stage set to include a new town square, a landscaped pedestrian link to Princes Street and a new supermarket, as well as a

Bristol City Football Club (BCFC) has submitted detailed plans for the construction of a new £65m stadium at Ashton Vale, as well as outline proposals for a mixed-use scheme on surrounding land. Plans for the new 30,000-seat venue have been drawn-up following three sets of public consultation with local residents and stakeholders, and include the potential to add a further 12,000 seats as part of Bristol's bid to be a

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has announced that construction work on the new London 2012 White Water Canoe Centre in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, is now underway. Morrison Construction has been appointed to build the new 10-hectare (24.7-acre) facility, which will host canoe slalom events during the 2012 Games before becoming a canoeing and white-water rafting venue for the local community in legacy mode. Facilities at the venue will include an Olympic-standard,

Drayton Manor theme park has been given approval to build further accommodation in the visitor attraction's surrounding parkland near Tamworth in Staffordshire. The 150-bedroom hotel will comprise a 90-cover restaurant and a 60-cover brasserie, as well as a café, a banqueting suite and a creche. A planning application submitted to Lichfield District Council in 1997 was approved earlier this year, but final authorisation by Government Office West Midlands has only

Billingham Forum has closed to the public in order to allow construction work on a £15m refurbishment scheme to get underway at the leisure complex, which is expected to last for 18 months. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) and operator Tees Active are working in partnership on the revamp, which will include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool with a new training pool and existing learner pool and structural improvements to the

Proposals to enhance the visitor experience at Westminster Abbey in central London have been revealed. The £23m scheme will see the Abbey's small plain pyramid roof being replaced by a more decorative corona. A new museum and exhibition space showcasing historic treasures and artefacts previously unseen by the public will be housed in the upper gallery, known as the Triforium, while an education centre and a café will provide improved

Tim Foster Architects has been appointed to redevelop Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon, south London, following a two-stage design competition and the completion of a feasibility study. Plans for the venue include the construction of a new domed structure at the rear of the site to house a new auditorium for children aged between one and five-years-old, while the existing auditorium will be remodelled. The Polka Children's Theatre scheme also

Plans for a £187m leisure and public services complex in Wigan, Greater Manchester, have been given the green light after the local authority reached an agreement with private sector partners. Construction work on the new Wigan Life Centre, which will be located on the site of the former Wigan International Pool, is expected to get underway in early July after Wigan Council's project team secured a deal with the Access

Inspectors from UNESCO's World Heritage Committee have revealed that they have no concerns over Bath's status as World Heritage Site, despite plans for the Western Riverside development. A report published by the committee revealed that proposals for the first phase of the Western Riverside scheme, which comprises 44 acres (17.8) hectares of land to the west of the city centre, will not threaten the future of the World Heritage Site.

A major £6.93m conservation and improvement scheme at Taunton Castle in Somerset has been handed a funding boost by Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society (SANHS). The £35,000 SANHS donation will be used to fund repair work at the castle, as well as the creation of new gallery spaces as part of the new Museum of Somerset attraction, which will house collections owned by the society. Bridgwater-based developer Henry W

Australia-based JVPlay has announced plans to develop a 69-acre resort in Sydney, New South Wales, boasting a 250-room four-star hotel and indoor and outdoor waterparks. JVPlay, a supplier of amusements, custom themed environments, architectural design, project management services, business planning and feasibility studies to the leisure industry, is currently seeking investors for the scheme, which is to be called The Great Reef Resort. Phase one of the project will see

An internal nine-storey atrium, designed in the style of a Fabergé egg, is at the heart of designs for the proposed new Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Moscow, Russia, which have been unveiled by architects HOK. The 250-room, five-star property, which will be situated on the city's Tverskaya Road, is to be housed in a renovated 19th century manor house and features an 'upside-down' design that will invite visitors to check-in

Eatonfield Group, the Cheshire-based development company, has been given the green light to transform a former NHS hospital in Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire, into a country house hotel. South Lanarkshire Council has approved plans for the redevelopment of the 83-acre (33.6) Birkwood site, which was acquired by the company in June 2008. The site has been unoccupied since 2002. The Grade B-listed hospital building will be renovated into a new country

Plans for the multi-million pound Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa development in Derbyshire have been put on hold while developers await the outcome of an archaeological survey. The results of the survey, together with the findings of geotechnical and hydrological tests into the composition of the ground on which the historic building is situated, are to be used to assess existing designs for the scheme before construction work can

A new multi-million pound entertainment venue has officially opened in Livingston, which will provide a new home for West Lothian Council's (WLC) arts service and a local youth theatre company. The £6m transformation of Howden Park Centre, which was designed by Dundee-based architects Nicholl Russell Studios, has been funded by the council, along with a £1.29m lottery grant from the Scottish Arts Council (SAC). Facilities at the venue, which has