Designs for the redevelopment of Gwyn Hall in Neath, South Wales, which was severely damaged by fire, have been unveiled by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC). A public consultation has now been launched by the council to allow local residents to have their say on Holder Mathias Architects' proposals for the venue, which was undergoing a £4m refurbishment at the time of the fire on 18 October last

Entrepreneur Mark Fuller has announced that his latest hotel venture, Sanctum Soho, will open in March 2009. The £10m, 30-room hotel will include a 60-cover restaurant and resident-only bars and is marketed as a "sin worthy of an affair". The hotel's signature feature is a number of "crash pads" – private spaces which can be rented by by the hour. The hotel also houses a private cinema on the ground

Whitbread's flagship 'green' Premier Inn opens today (8 December) in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The 20-bed property is part of the hotel operator's plans to minimise its impact on the environment and is designed to reduce energy consumption by up to 80 per cent. The hotel includes ground-source heat pumps, which use the earth's natural energy to cool and heat the hotel, as well as providing hot water throughout. Grey water recycling

A historic market in Canning Town, east London, is set to receive a £180m transformation under plans unveiled by the English Cities Fund (ECf), a joint venture between Muse Developments, English Partnerships and Legal and General. The 680,000sq ft (63,174sq m) regeneration of Rathbone Market is to be one of the first projects of a wider redevelopment masterplan of the Canning Town area. At the centre of the proposals for

Developer Minerva has been given the go-ahead to redevelop Young's Ram Brewery in South London. The 1.3 million sq ft (120,773sq m) Ram Brewery scheme will combine a 12,204sq m (131,36sq ft) dedicated area for bars, restaurants, retail units and commercial developments. There will also be 2,673sq m (28,771sq ft) for community and leisure uses as well as a micro-brewery and 1,036 apartments. Salmaan Hasan, chief executive of Minerva, said:

Plans to regenerate some of London's most famous shopping streets are set to include play provision after the chief executive of London Play, Ute Navidi, was appointed to the project's seven-person Inclusive Design Panel (IDP). The refurbishment of Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street is to be carried out in time for the London 2012 Olympics, and the IDP has been tasked to ensure that the area is transformed

Yorkshire County Cricket Club (LCCC) has been given the green light for plans to build an iconic new £20m pavilion at the Headingley Carnegie Cricket Ground in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The 4,000sq m (43,056sq ft) building has been designed by the London-based architect, SMC Alsop, which will operate as a cricket pavilion during summer months, and as a teaching facility for Leeds Metropolitan University throughout the academic year. When complete,

Theatre company Mind the Gap has opened its £2.1m performing arts workspace in Lister Mills in Bradford. Mind the Gap Studios boasts three fully-equipped studio spaces for rehearsals, workshops, training and dance. The organisation aims to help people with learning disabilities to become professional actors. Designed by Allen Todd Architecure, the project was delivered in partnership with Bradford Council, and funded by £1.25m from Arts Council England, Yorkshire as well

Plans for a £700,000 junior football club pavilion and pitches in north London has been granted planning permission by Harrow Council. The 380 sq m scheme is a joint venture between Harrow-based Belmont United Football Club and the council, and is part-funded by the FA's Football Foundation. The plans, designed by London-based architects Spacelab, includes changing facilities, physiotherapy rooms, function rooms and catering facilities. There will also be a new

Plans to establish a showcase eco-park at Wat Tyler Country Park in Pitsea, Essex, have received a boost after the government committed £1.6m towards the project. Basildon District Council (BDC) is leading the project, which has already secured £5.3m to fund improvements to the park, as well as transforming a former explosives factory into a new heritage centre powered by renewable energy. New trails will be created using the latest

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club (NCCC) has announced that improvements to the outfield at the Trent Bridge stadium in Nottingham are progressing ahead of schedule. New turf, drainage and sprinklers are being installed at the ground as part of a £600,000 project, which is being carried out by Grantham-based sportsturf contractor, Steven Pask. Funded by an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) grant, the work also includes the extension of the

A new civic park is at the heart of plans for a mixed-use scheme to be developed on the site of an existing JCB factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. The masterplan, designed by newly-appointed London-based McDowell + Benedetti Architects (MBA), includes a 5,000sq m innovation centre, a 3,000sq m primary care trust facility, a créche, 260 homes and 5,000sq m of retail space. Part of the plans for the civic park

Construction work on the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent, has begun but the opening will be delayed until 2011. The new gallery, designed by architect David Chipperfield, will exhibit contemporary art and celebrates the town's connect with artist JMW Turner, who was schooled in Margate and later lived there. The attraction, which has been in the pipeline for 15 years, was originally expected to open in 2010. Kent-based contractor

A public consultation has launched in Neath, south Wales, for local residents and business to have their say over proposals for the £80m regeneration of the town centre. Neath Port Talbot Council (NPTC) and developer Simons are working together on the redevelopment project, which is set to include a new library, new public squares and a new, iconic heritage centre. A planning application for the scheme is expected to be

A new Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) initiative is helping to provide women with new employment and training opportunities within the construction industry, according to Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell. The 'Women into Construction' scheme, funded by the London Development Agency and Construction Skills, aims to secure work placements for 50 women a year on projects to build venues and infrastructure for London 2012. Jowell attended a taster session for the initiative

Work on the first section of a new 16.8km (10.4-mile) waterfront promenade in Edinburgh is set to get underway in January between Silverknowes and Granton. A timetable has now been drawn up for the 30-year scheme, which will eventually link Cramond with Joppa. The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has already earmarked £210,000 this financial year to enable work to start on the first 1km (0.62-mile) stage. Project manager, Steve

Proposals for a £16m scheme designed to revitalise the centre of Loughborough, Leicestershire, by increasing access for pedestrians and cyclists are to be put on public display in December. Charnwood Borough Council (CBC), working with Leicestershire County Council, will put forward ideas to local residents and businesses between 10-13 December. Forming part of CBC's Town Centre Masterplan for Loughborough, the plans include the pedestrianisation of a number of streets, as

Urban regeneration company, Riverside Inverclyde, has unveiled its plans for the £180m redevelopment of the 50-acre (20.2-hectare) James Watt Dock in Greenock. In partnership with property and transport company, Peel, the project is set to be one of the largest ever regeneration projects in Scotland, and will be centred around the Category 'A'-listed Sugar Warehouse. The scheme is expected to take 10 years to complete, and is set to include

Owners of the Fetternear Estate, near Kemnay, in Scotland have submitted an outline planning application for a mixed-use development and the restoration of Bishops Palace to Aberdeenshire Council. The plans to redevelop disused farm land and restore the listed building, built in 1329, in collaboration with Scottish Heritage, have been created in partnership with Hardie Planning Consultancy and Leslie F Hunter Chartered Architects. If approved, the site will host a

Seven architects have been shortlisted for the multi-million pound refurbishment of the Grade II-listed Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. The firms, whittled down from fifty submissions, are London-based Allford Hall Monaghan Morris; Burrell Foley Fischer, in London; Nord Architecture in Glasgow; Pentagram Architects; Paris-based Studio Andrew Todd; Studio 3 and Union North. The design competition to upgrade and restore the 70-year-old art deco-style building also included firms from New York

Plans to redevelop the derelict Lowther Castle and Gardens near Penrith, Cumbria, into a new £15m tourist attraction have received a major funding boost worth £9m. The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) will contribute £7m towards the scheme, while an additional £2m is also being put forward by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). An application has also been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the remaining £6m, but

Russia-based MT Development has announced that it will be building a new RUS16.8bn (US$620m, £406m, 472m euro) leisure attraction in the capital Moscow. To be called Freestyle Park, the 280,000sq m (3 million sq ft) sport and leisure destination is expected to attract five million visits annually. The attraction aims to cater for all ages by providing a range of events, from extreme sports to gaming facilities. Activities will include

Warwickshire County Cricket Club's (WCCC) £30m redevelopment of Edgbaston cricket ground has taken a step forward after an application for compulsory purchase orders on houses in a nearby street was approved. Birmingham City Council (BCC) agreed in principle to allow WCCC to acquire buildings in the city's Pershore Road as part of plans to build a new main stand at the stadium. A hotel, a residential development and offices are

A new 1,500-acre (607-hectare) coastal wildlife habitat is to be established by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Essex using material excavated as part of the construction of London's Crossrail project. Clay, chalk, sand and gravel will be shipped by boat from the centre of the capital to Wallasea Island, which is the site for Europe's largest wetland creation scheme. Designed to replace wildlife habitats damaged

Leeds City Council (LCC) has approved plans for a new centre of excellence for dance which will become the new home of the Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and the Phoenix Dance Theatre (PDT). The new six-storey £12m centre will consist of seven dance studios, including a 200-seat studio theatre, as well as a health suite, a costume workshop and office space. It will also eventually house a full-time a classical

The National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. is to reopen today (21 November) after a two-year, US$85m (£57.5m) facelift. The museum – which is operated by the Smithsonian Institute – saw its centre core renovated, with a grand staircase and a skylight installed and a new Star-Spangled Banner gallery built. New York-based architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill designed the project, which was then carried out by the Turner

Public art and social facilities have been proposed by Leicester University as part of its £1bn campus redevelopment project. The scheme is designed to establish the university as one of the top ten in the UK, and its new Development Framework Plan outlines £786m of investment over the next two decades to complement a £300m plan unveiled in 2002. At the centre of proposals, the university plans to establish high