North Somerset Council (NSC) has approved plans for two new visitor attractions to be established in Weston-super-Mare, which it said will contribute towards the transformation of the town's seafront. Plans for the redevelopment of the 104-year-old Grand Pier, which was severely damaged by fire in July last year, were given the green light by the council's West Area committee, as were proposals for a new 40m (131ft) observation wheel. A

The refurbishment of the Liverpool's Grade II-listed Royal Court Theatre has been allocated an architect following a public display of seven shortlisted designs. London-based Allford Hall Monaghan Morris' (AHMM) £10m proposal for the 71-year-old building was chosen and includes an enlarged entrance space for the 1,250-seat theatre – a 20-year-old rock music venue – with a digital screen and rooftop restaurant and bar. The middle two floors will also be organised

A historic World War II codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire is set to undergo vital repair work after Milton Keynes Council (MKC) agreed to match a funding pledge by English Heritage. When English Heritage announced in November that it was investing £330,000 to fund repairs to the Grade II-listed mansion's roof, it also pledged a further £100,000 a year over a three-year period starting in April providing match-funding

The newly-renamed four-star Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel has undergone a £25m transformation, with new interiors designed by in-house team Amrit Singh and Michael Attenborough. The 174-room hotel boasts a new seventh floor, and a new meeting and events suite with seven spaces, including the 300-capacity Folio room and HD technology with built-in Blu-Ray and touch screen controls. Bloomsbury’s literary past inspired the hotel’s new reception area, which features whole

The architectural firm in charge of redesigning National Wildflower Centre in Knowsley, near Liverpool, has been selected by environmental charity Landlife. Ian Simpson Architects won the international open competition along with Adams Kara Yatlor Engineers and Hoare Lea Engineers to create a new educational attraction around wildflower gardens. The competition was funded with a £100,000 grant from the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The attraction, which originally opened in 2001, is

London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for the major refurbishment of some of the capital's public spaces in a bid to make London a more attractive place to live, work and visit. The Great Spaces initiative will target spaces that currently offer poor access or that are unwelcoming and unattractive, including lesser known streets, squares, parks and riverside walks. London boroughs can submit projects at any stage of the

The Tower Theatre Company (TTC) has unveiled plans to build a new theatre on a site confirmed by Museum of London Archaeology as being the location of London's first purpose-built playhouse. An excavation of the site in Shoreditch, which is currently occupied by a disused warehouse, has uncovered what is believed to be the inner wall of The Theatre, a polygonal theatre built by James Burbage in 1576. Trustees of

Construction work on a new building to house Belfast’s ageing Lyric Theatre is now underway. The £18m new build — designed by architects O’Donnell & Tuomey — will be constructed at a new location in order to provide a theatre almost four times the size of the original 1968 site. The Lyric’s new home will comprise a 394-seat main auditorium, a 150-seat studio theatre, a rehearsal room, riverfront foyers and

The Scottish Government has been called upon to help provide funding for the creation of a new landmark building on Dundee's waterfront that could house a proposed Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. Kevin Keenan, chair of the Dundee Waterfront Board (DWB), wants to see an iconic 'anchor' building developed as part of the wider regeneration of the city's waterfront, in order to capture the public's imagination and to act as

A new three-year strategy outlining a number of proposals for the transformation of Carlisle has been given the green light by the city council. The Carlisle Renaissance Action Plan 2009-12 was formally approved by Carlisle City Council (CCC) on 3 March, and has now received the support of all the partners involved with the scheme. Cumbria County Council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Cumbria Vision have already backed the

Southampton's oldest museum has been awarded a £3.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in order to carry out restoration work that will safeguard the attraction's future. Tudor House, which dates back to the late 15th century, is set to undergo an extensive refurbishment programme that will enable the Grade I-listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument to be removed from the 'Heritage At Risk Register'. The former Tudor merchant

Science Oxford Live, a new cultural centre for science and enterprise in Oxfordshire, has opened to the public following a £250,000 refurbishment. The ground floor of the venue, which has been closed for the last two months while work has been carried out, offers a meeting area, a chill out refreshment area and a permanent exhibition space for adults and older children. A discovery zone for children and families also

Plans for a new museum, gallery and library at the Beaney Institute building in Canterbury has received a £5.98m funding boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The HLF grant will go towards a £11.6m regeneration project that will see the Grade II-listed Beaney Institute receive a new rear extension to create more gallery space. The institute first opened to the public as a museum in 1899 and houses more

Telford and Wrekin Council (TWC) has announced that it is to bring forward its revised proposals for the development of a new £8m civic quarter in Wellington, Shropshire, following public consultation. During February, local residents were given a chance to have their say on the scheme, which includes improvements to the town's existing leisure centre and the creation of a new library and registry office. Eric Carter, TWC's cabinet member

The Ulster Hall, a historic 150-year old cultural venue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has reopened following an extensive multi-million pound refurbishment scheme lasting two years. It is the first scheme to be completed as part of a series of major renovation projects taking place at buildings across the city, with St Malachy's Church, the City Hall and the Ulster Museum set to reopen later this year. Work on the £8.5m

Archial — formerly SMC Charter Architects — has unveiled its designs for the £46.5m Life Centre in Plymouth. A full planning application has been submitted to the city council for the massive leisure scheme, which will be located in the city’s main parkland. Paul Weston, director of Archial, said: “This building is a major architectural statement in Central Park and will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the

Proposals for a major mixed-use development in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, have been put forward by Dovey Estates in a bid to revitalise the seaside town's eastern gateway. At the heart of the scheme is the redevelopment of the Royal Gatehouse Hotel, which was severely damaged by fire last year, as well as adjacent properties including the Royal Playhouse Cinema and the Royal Lion Hotel. Under plans for the project, the exterior

Southampton City Council (SCC) has launched a search for a development partner to take on the transformation of the city's former Tyrrell and Green department store as part of plans for a new cultural quarter. At the heart of plans for the mixed-use development, which has been designed by Assael and could cost up to £50m, is the creation of a new arts complex. A hotel, restaurants, cafés and education

The team behind a new £55m golf resort is hoping the project could establish Angus as one of Scotland's foremost tourist destinations. Plans for the development in the village of Wellbank include an 18-hole Darren Clarke signature golf course, Scotland's first golf youth academy and a five-star hotel and spa, as well as a housing development along the course edge. The course will be designed by renowned architect, Graeme Webster,

London mayor Boris Johnson has revealed the 10 London parks that have been selected by a public vote to receive a £400,000 transformation as part of a £6m funding scheme. Johnson has also announced that Burgess Park in Southwark will receive a larger grant of £2m in order to fund a more extensive upgrade, following advice from a panel of experts. More than 110,000 Londoners voted as part of the

Scotland's oldest purpose-built cinema, The Hippodrome in Bo'ness, is set to reopen on 6 April for a special community screening, following a £2.15m restoration scheme. First opened in 1912, the A-listed building is owned by the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, which carried out the first phase of the project, and is leased to Falkirk Council. Extensive work has been carried out on both the interior and exterior of the venue,

Plans for a major mixed-use development on the site of the former Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, south west London, have been called in by communities secretary Hazel Blears. The £1bn scheme, which is led by investment and development company Minerva, received planning consent from Wandsworth Council in December 2008, as well as being given the backing of London mayor Boris Johnson. A riverside walk, two public squares and a viewing

Plans for the restoration and refurbishment of Penarth Pier Pavilion have been revived by Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd (PACL) after the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VGC) agreed to contribute £800,000 towards the scheme. Last year, the project failed at the final hurdle in a bid to secure £2m funding support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), but now preparations are being made to submit a new bid later this

Architects have been appointed to transform the Café Royal on London's Regent Street into a five-star hotel as part of a £750m facelift of the area. Israeli investment firm Alrov Group, leaseholder of the site, has secured David Chipperfield Architects to restore and convert the building into a 25,000sq m, 160-room hotel. When complete the property will form part of a wider 93,000sq m (1 million sq ft) mixed-use development,

Ampersand, the developer behind £250m plans for The Beach resort at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall, has withdrawn an appeal against a decision ordering the company to remove temporary sea defences. Restormel Borough Council (RBC) issued an enforcement notice in September 2007, which came into effect in December 2008, ordering the developer to remove a temporary sea wall that had been constructed to protect workers from sea flooding. However, Ampersand has now

The £4bn eco-dome designs for the Battersea Power Station in London are being re-considered after various consultations found the scheme to impede on world heritage views of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Real Estate Opportunities – which has a 67 per cent stake in the site's owner Treasury Holdings – appointed New York-based architect Rafael Viñoly to design the masterplan in April 2008. The design was based on

A historic London hotel, which was used by the secret service during the First World War, has been relaunched by Guoman Hotels following the completion of a £16.3m refurbishment. The Grade I-listed Royal Horseguards hotel, located on the Embankment, has undergone a full revamp of its 280 bedrooms to bring the property up to five-star standard. Work has included the addition of a new Guoman Club Lounge and a new