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Tulloch is planning to develop a £20m golf and country club at Beaufort Castle near Inverness, with the creation of 230 jobs. 31-Dec-2004 Hurns Brewing Company is planning to set up a visitor centre at its brewery in Swansea. 30-Dec-2004 The National Assembly for Wales has announced a £2.4m grant to go towards the Sustainable Fisheries Programme, which is led by the Environment Agency Wales and aims to develop new destinations for fishing holidays. 23-Dec-2004 Sefton Council has approved plans from JJB to develop a £5m leisure club and sports store at the former Paradox nightclub in Aintree, with the creation of 80 jobs. 23-Dec-2004 Greenwich Council has approved plans for the development of a £19m leisure and community complex in Eltham town centre by 2007. 22-Dec-2004 Stockton Council is considering revised plans from Maher Entertainments for the £80m development of a luxury hotel and leisure complex at the Tall Trees site in Yarm. 21-Dec-2004 The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford is to undergo a £6m expansion project by 2006, in order to provide more space for archaeological artefacts. 21-Dec-2004 The Royal Institution is to renovate its building in London's Mayfair at a cost of £15m, in order to provide more museum space for its collection of scientific objects. 20-Dec-2004 The Midland Art Centre has announced plans for the £18m refurbishment its Cannon Hill Park site in Birmingham, including a new 500-seat auditorium. 16-Dec-2004 InterContinental Hotels is to proceed with plans to sell its £1bn chain of Holiday Inns in the UK, in order to focus on hotel management rather than ownership. 16-Dec-2004 Macdonald Hotels is to invest £13m in the expansion and upgrade of 26 of its 60 Vital health and fitness centres over the next two years. 14-Dec-2004 LA Fitness, the chain of 67 fitness clubs, has received a number of takeover approaches that could see the company return to private ownership. 14-Dec-2004 Westminster City Council is in discussions with Masterworks Development Corporation of the US about plans to transform the historic Northumberland House next to Trafalgar Square into a luxury hotel. 13-Dec-2004 Sunderland Football Club is backing plans from US-based Las Vegas Sands to build a £100m casino and entertainment complex at the Stadium of Light. 10-Dec-2004 Center Parcs is planning to build a £160m holiday village at Warren Wood near Woburn over the next four years. 10-Dec-2004 QN Hotels has awarded a £7.6m contract to David McLean to build a four-storey hotel at Wrexham Technology Park. 09-Dec-2004 The North West Development Agency has awarded a £4m grant for the redevelopment of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe, as part of a local regeneration project being carried out by Urban Splash. 09-Dec-2004 The Rotunda Museum in Scarborough is planning to undergo a £3m refurbishment, with the aim of creating an international centre for geological study and research. 06-Dec-2004 Macdonald Hotels is planning to develop a four-star 140-bed hotel and conference centre at Telecommunications House in Manchester, in a joint venture with Rightacres. 06-Dec-2004 Royal Liverpool Golf Club has announced plans for the £2m redevelopment of its clubhouse, in preparation for the Open Golf Championship in 2006. 03-Dec-2004 North West Development Agency has announced £2.5m of funding for the restoration of Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool, in order to create an arts studio, gallery and performance space. 03-Dec-2004 Charlton Athletic is submitting plans to extend The Valley football stadium in London, in order to increase the capacity by 15,000. 02-Dec-2004 Birmingham City Football Club is expected to soon announce plans for the development of a £200m sports stadium on a 50-acre site in Saltley, including a casino operated by Las Vegas Sands Group. 02-Dec-2004 De Vere is planning to expand its chain of 13 Village Hotels to more than 50, including five new sites a year. 02-Dec-2004 Peterborough City Council is to consider plans from David Lloyd Leisure to build a £12m sports club at the Thorpe Wood Business Park, with the creation of 100 jobs. 01-Dec-2004 Highland Council is considering plans from the Rennie MacKintosh Group for the development of a £6.5m six-storey three-star hotel in Inverness city centre. 29-Nov-2004 Cinque Ports Leisure, the chain of 19 caravan parks, could be put up for sale, having appointed KPMG to consider its strategic options. 29-Nov-2004 Garlands has announced plans to set up a multi-million pound travel industry call centre complex at Preston Farm in Stockton, with four buildings each holding up to 250 staff. 26-Nov-2004 Wynyard Club has unveiled plans to build a £15m luxury hotel at its golf complex on Teesside. 25-Nov-2004 Neath Port Talbot Council is considering plans from the owner of the Towers Hotel at Jersey Marine to create a new £2m hotel in Water Street. 25-Nov-2004 Leicester Tigers is planning to relocate its rugby club to the nearby Walkers Stadium by forming a joint company with Leicester City to buy the stadium. 24-Nov-2004 Stanley Leisure has formed a joint venture with Genting of Malaysia to develop regional casinos across the UK. 24-Nov-2004 Mark Warner is looking to raise up to £10m of private investment to fund the expansion of its travel business, which will involve opening new resorts in the Middle East and North Africa. 23-Nov-2004 Bristol City Council is to consider plans from Bristol Rovers to build a new £2m stand with 5,500 seats at the Memorial Stadium. 22-Nov-2004 National Museums of Scotland is planning to spend £70m on improvements at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh over the next 15 years. 22-Nov-2004 Goals Soccer Centres is to raise £20m in a flotation on Aim to fund the expansion of its chain of 11 five-a-side football centres with 15 new sites over the next three years. 22-Nov-2004 Weststar Holidays, the owner of Looe Bay Holiday Park and two other sites in Cornwall and Dorset, has been put up for sale. 19-Nov-2004 Future Inns of Canada is to set up a UK headquarters in Cardiff, with the creation of up to 20 jobs, in order to co-ordinate the development of a nationwide network of hotels. 18-Nov-2004 Galliford Try has won a £8.9m contract from the Royal Air Force to extend an aviation museum at Shifnal, Shropshire, by autumn 2006. 17-Nov-2004 Banbridge District Council has approved plans from GML Estates for the £30m development of a hotel and leisure complex at Gilford Mill in County Down, which will create 400 jobs. 17-Nov-2004 The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere is to undergo a £2m refurbishment early next year. 17-Nov-2004 Broadland District Council is to consider revised plans from Pisces Investments for the development of a £4m woodland holiday park at Stratton Strawless. 17-Nov-2004 Fort Perch Rock is planning to spend £5m refurbishing its historic tourist attraction at New Brighton on Merseyside. 16-Nov-2004 Hampshire County Council has announced plans for the £7m transformation of Winchester library into a cultural centre, including art gallery and museum. 16-Nov-2004 Hoar Cross Hall is to create up to 100 new jobs when it opens a £9m extension at its stately home spa resort in Staffordshire in January. 16-Nov-2004 MGM Mirage has announced plans for a £130m gambling, entertainment and hotel complex in Southend. 15-Nov-2004 Heritage Lottery Fund Wales has announced plans to spend £3.5m restoring historic buildings in Bridgend, Holywell, Cefnmawr, Llandovery and Llangadog, to benefit from the rising interest in heritage tourism. 15-Nov-2004 Eddie Rocket's is opening its first UK restaurant franchise in Liverpool, with the creation of 30 jobs. 15-Nov-2004 National Museums Liverpool is planning to establish a £10m National Museum & Centre for the Understanding of Transatlantic Slavery, and a potential site is next to the Maritime Museum. 15-Nov-2004 Sunderland Council has secured a £4.7m Sport England grant to help fund the development of a £12m Olympic-sized swimming pool next to the Stadium of Light. 11-Nov-2004 Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council is looking for a contractor to build the £6m Sundorne Sports Village in Shrewsbury, including a dry sports centre and cycle track. 10-Nov-2004 Creative Travel Group, the Altrincham-based operator of Holidays in a Box, has ceased trading with the loss of up to 160 jobs. 09-Nov-2004 The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) is said to have selected the former Maze prison site as the preferred location for a new sports stadium for Northern Ireland. 09-Nov-2004 Vue Cinemas is to set up a 12-screen cinema at the Salubrious Place development in Swansea, with the creation of 70 jobs. 09-Nov-2004 Southampton City Council is in discussions with US-based Ameristar about plans to build a resort-style casino at the West Quay Stage Three development. 08-Nov-2004 TUI UK, the owner of Thompson Holidays, is to relocate its head office from Camden to Luton. 08-Nov-2004 GB Holiday Parks is to sell a 75% equity stake in its caravan parks business to ABN Amro Capital for £35m. 08-Nov-2004 VisitScotland is to merge with the various Scottish area tourist boards, creating a single tourism network and resulting in the loss of up to 50 jobs. 05-Nov-2004 Willmott Dixon has won a £7m contract from David Lloyd Group to build a leisure centre in Kings Hill, Kent. 04-Nov-2004 Celtic Inns has raised up to £10m from Sand Aire to fund the expansion of its chain of 60 pubs to about 100 over the next three years. 03-Nov-2004 Berkeley Scott, the supplier of recruitment services to the leisure sector, is planning to raise £3.5m in a flotation on Aim. 02-Nov-2004 Beanland Associates Architects is planning to develop a £12m six-storey hotel in the centre of Ipswich for an unnamed hotel chain. 02-Nov-2004 Wirral Council has received plans from Neptune Developments for the £70m redevelopment of New Brighton, including the refurbishment of the Floral Pavilion, an outdoor lido and a cinema complex. 01-Nov-2004 Scandinavian Airlines is looking to develop a Radisson SAS hotel in Newcastle over the next three years, and also hopes to double the number of flights from Newcastle within six months. 01-Nov-2004 Hilton is planning to set up a £200m casino and leisure complex in Blackpool with the creation of 500 jobs, and is also considering a similar project in Brighton. 01-Nov-2004 Whitbread is to relocate its headquarters from London to Luton, and has also announced plans to create 8,000 new jobs with the opening of 100 pub-restaurants, five David Lloyd Leisure Centres and 50 Costa Coffee outlets over the next four years. 29-Oct-2004 Lion Salt Works in Cheshire is looking to raise £5m to fund the restoration of its historic site, which would involve a return to salt manufacturing and the development of tourist facilities. 28-Oct-2004 Derby Playhouse is to consider proposals to expand its auditorium or to relocate to a new site elsewhere in the city. 28-Oct-2004 Dean & Bowes has won a £4.3m contract to build a health and fitness club in Merton, London, for Virgin Active. 27-Oct-2004 Travel 2 Travel 4 is to create almost 400 jobs at a travel call centre in Glasgow by combining three existing sites in Glasgow, Manchester and London at the city's Skypark complex. 27-Oct-2004 Rochford District Council has approved plans to build a £3m sports centre in Rayleigh. 26-Oct-2004 Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool has secured financial backing from the Royal Bank of Scotland to develop a chain of 200 pubs over the next three years. 25-Oct-2004 Darlington Football Club is planning to develop a purpose-built training ground on land next to the Williamson Motors Stadium. 25-Oct-2004 Newark & Sherwood District Council is to close Newark Museum by the end of the year, and will consider alternative uses for the building. 22-Oct-2004 Jump Activity Centre is planning to set up a chain of at least five 123 Jump children's play centres over the next two years, having just opened a flagship 55,000 sq ft site in Cardiff. 21-Oct-2004 Test Valley Borough Council is considering plans from Kailash Estates to expand the Chantry Centre in Andover, including a 50-bedroom hotel and retail space. 21-Oct-2004 De Vere is planning to build a £16m Village Hotel & Leisure Club at the SA1 waterfront site in Swansea, with the creation of up to 300 jobs. 20-Oct-2004 Denbighshire County Council is planning to modernise and reopen the old Scala cinema in Prestatyn over the next 18 months, at a cost of £2.4m. 19-Oct-2004 Stanley Leisure is planning to build a £125m casino and hotel complex next to the Elland Road stadium in Leeds, with the creation of 1,000 jobs. 19-Oct-2004 MyTravel is creating more than 100 jobs at its Holiday Line call centre operations in North Shields and Accrington, but its Manchester call centre will close. 18-Oct-2004 Living Ventures is planning to open Living Room restaurants in Newcastle, Cambridge, Oxford and London over the next 12 months. 18-Oct-2004 Scottish Natural Heritage has unveiled plans for its new headquarters in Inverness, and developer Robertson Group expects to complete the building in March 2006. 15-Oct-2004 St Helens Council is to help fund the £1.3m restoration of the North West Museum of Road Transport over the next 12 months. 14-Oct-2004 LA Fitness is planning to open a chain of weight-loss centres, involving the sale of slimming courses in partnership with supermarkets and hospitals, and the first site will open in Bedford next month. 14-Oct-2004 Spirit Group has confirmed that 350 pubs have been put up for sale, which could raise more than £200m. 14-Oct-2004 The Jackfield Tile Museum near Ironbridge has secured a £2m lottery grant to fund a restoration project. 13-Oct-2004 Ickworth House in Suffolk is to undergo a £4.5m development, in order to provide improved visitor facilities and a conference venue. 13-Oct-2004 Caesars Entertainment and Quintain Estates have unveiled plans to build a £320m casino and hotel complex at Wembley, as part of a £1.3bn scheme to redevelop 42 acres around Wembley Arena. 13-Oct-2004 The Royal Festival Hall in London is planning to shed about 180 jobs when it closes for refurbishment next July. 12-Oct-2004 Menzies Hotels is considering plans to sell its chain of 14 four-star hotels for about £115m. 11-Oct-2004 De Vere is to close the De Vere Dormy four-star hotel near Bournemouth with the loss about 200 jobs, and the site will be redeveloped as housing. 08-Oct-2004 The Musical Museum in Brentford is to receive a £1.8m grant to improve its displays, and will soon move to a purpose-built centre further along Brentford High Street. 07-Oct-2004 Shrewsbury Town Football Club has won approval to demolish its football stadium to make way for 150 new homes, enabling the club to raise money for a new stadium on the edge of town. 07-Oct-2004 Wembley is considering plans to sell its GRA greyhound racing business for up to £50m, including venues in Wimbledon, Birmingham, Manchester, Portsmouth and Oxford. 07-Oct-2004 Belhaven is planning to expand its chain of 250 pubs to 300 by the end of 2005. 07-Oct-2004 Norfolk County Council has awarded a £1.6m contract to Jackson Building to build a water activities complex at Whitlingham Country Park in Norwich. 07-Oct-2004 East Riding Council has awarded a £5m contract to George Houlton to build a history and cultural centre in Beverley. 07-Oct-2004 Armagh Planetarium, the Northern Ireland-based tourist attraction that has been closed since 2000, has secured a £1m government grant to fund a refurbishment programme. 06-Oct-2004 The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St Andrews has been acquired by Swilken Holdings and Kohler Company for £35m. 05-Oct-2004 Liverpool City Council has finalised plans to build a £12m swimming pool in Picton. 04-Oct-2004 UGC is looking to sell its chain of 92 cinemas, including 41 in the UK, for up to £400m. 04-Oct-2004 Restaurant Group is planning to open more than 20 new sites for its Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito's restaurant chains over the next three years. 04-Oct-2004 Ramada Ireland is planning to open seven new hotels in Northern Ireland over the next three years, through Cork-based franchisee Crawford Investments. 30-Sep-2004 Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council is considering plans from Tawnywood for the development of a £3.5m Days Inn hotel at the Bermuda Park leisure complex. 30-Sep-2004 Tui is to shed about 800 jobs in its UK travel business by the end of the year, which will affect unspecified Thomson, Lunn Poly and Britannia sites across the country. 30-Sep-2004 Chelsea Football Club has secured planning permission for a new training and academy facility at Cobham in Surrey. 29-Sep-2004 Chester City Council is considering plans from Liberty Properties for the £50m redevelopment of Cheshire Constabulary's city headquarters, including a four-star hotel, offices and residential space. 28-Sep-2004 Eden Court, the Inverness-based theatre and conference venue, is to undergo a £15m expansion by 2006. 28-Sep-2004 Oxford Preservation Trust has secured a £3.7m lottery grant for the restoration of Oxford Castle and Prison. 27-Sep-2004 The Savernake Estate has announced proposals to develop a £50m golf resort at the 4,500-acre site near Marlborough, in partnership with Buena Vista Hospitality Group of the US. 27-Sep-2004 Thinktank Trust is planning to set up a planetarium and science theatre at the Millennium Point visitor attraction in Birmingham by 2005. 24-Sep-2004 The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham is planning to set up a multi-million pound casino and 2,000-seat concert venue, and is also looking to develop a fifth hotel and new conference facilities. 24-Sep-2004 The Royal Shakespeare Company has unveiled plans for the £100m refurbishment of its theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, including a new 1,000-seat auditorium, and work is due to start in 2007. 24-Sep-2004 KPMG Corporate Recovery has announced the refinancing of Bakersfield Entertainment, securing the future of 369 staff at eight late-night venues across the country. 23-Sep-2004 The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth has secured a £2.6m lottery grant to help fund a new £4m interactive ocean project. 23-Sep-2004 Gosport Borough Council has announced plans for the £40m redevelopment of the Priddy's Hard Heritage Area, including 198 homes and up to 72 art and craft studios. 21-Sep-2004 RegenCo has unveiled plans to set up a luxury hotel and leisure complex near the M5 at West Bromwich. 20-Sep-2004 Yarmouth Stadium is to undergo a £2.9m revamp, in order to provide improved facilities for greyhound and stock car racing. 20-Sep-2004 The Ancient House Museum in Thetford is to undergo a £1.5m refurbishment by spring 2006. 17-Sep-2004 Dudley Council is to consider plans from Aspers for the development of a £50m entertainments complex in Brierley Hill by 2007, including a theatre, casino and the creation of more than 1,000 jobs. 16-Sep-2004 Carlton Clubs has secured planning permission to build a £5m bingo club at Beechwood Park in Inverness. 16-Sep-2004 English Heritage has announced plans to transform the 5,000 acres of land around Stonehenge by 2009, including a new visitor centre and exhibition, at a cost of £67m. 16-Sep-2004 Saga, the holidays and insurance group, has announced plans for a flotation next month. 16-Sep-2004 Derbyshire County Council is considering plans to set up a hotel and golf course at Elvaston Castle. 15-Sep-2004 The Earth Centre theme park near Doncaster has closed to visitors with the loss of 51 of the 75 jobs, and the site will be handed to Doncaster Council in an attempt to keep it going. 15-Sep-2004 Marston Hotels, the chain of 15 hotels, has put itself up for sale with an estimated value of £175m. 15-Sep-2004 Tulloch is to establish a leisure division with the acquisition of two golf courses near Stirling, and is also looking to acquire hotels and caravan parks. 15-Sep-2004 Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop is planning a £4.3m expansion project, in order to increase the display space by 40%. 14-Sep-2004 Lincoln City Council is planning to build a £3.5m "artistic village" in the Clasketgate area, including art workshops and galleries. 14-Sep-2004 Compass is in discussions to acquire the Keith Prowse corporate hospitality business for at least £10m. 14-Sep-2004 Trafford Council has approved plans from Mountaineering Activities and Peel Investments for a £28m indoor ski centre next to the Trafford Centre by 2006. 13-Sep-2004 Holidaybreak is to close its Keycamp telesales operation in Sutton, Surrey, with the loss of about 50 jobs, in order to relocate the work to Northwich. 09-Sep-2004 Forth Ports is considering proposals to build a new £80m indoor concert arena, five-star hotel and casino at Leith Docks in Edinburgh over the next five years. 09-Sep-2004 West Lakes Renaissance is to consider plans from a local consortium to build a £80m sports village at Derwent Forest, which would include a world-class training facility for athletes. 08-Sep-2004 Derby City Council is considering plans to privatise five sports centres by the end of next year, in order to raise funds for building repairs. 08-Sep-2004 Alchemy Partners is looking to sell its chain of 1,100 InnSpired pubs for about £350m, and Punch Taverns is said to be interested. 08-Sep-2004 Gaia Centre for Alternative Energy may close its visitor attraction in North Cornwall with the loss of 21 jobs, unless planning permission can be secured to change the business use for the £5m site. 07-Sep-2004 Macdonald Hotels has bought two hotels in Aviemore from Hilton Group for an estimated £25m. 07-Sep-2004 Great Yarmouth College is planning to develop a 300-seat £8m riverside arts centre at Southtown. 06-Sep-2004 Urban Golf is planning to open five golf simulation centres in major cities by the end of next year, having just opened its first in Soho. 06-Sep-2004 First Choice Holidays is to shed up to 80 back-office jobs in Weston-super-Mare. 06-Sep-2004 JD Wetherspoon is to reduce the number of new pub openings from 28 to 15 next year. 06-Sep-2004 Lake District National Park Authority is to consider plans from MTB-Lakes for the development of a £3.5m mountain bike centre in Whinlatter Forest. 02-Sep-2004 Kingerlee has won a £3.5m contract to build a theatre for Radley College in Abingdon. 02-Sep-2004 Paddy Power is to expand its 20-strong chain of UK betting shops with 15 to 18 new premises a year, but will not seek sites outside the M25 until it has reached 100. 02-Sep-2004 Swansea Council has approved plans from Aspinalls to set up a casino at Brunswick Mansford's £30m Salubrious Place development, which could lead to the creation of 500 jobs. 01-Sep-2004 The London Development Agency is to invest £3.5m over the next four years in improvements to the quality of service provided by local chefs, hotel managers, tour guides and other tourism-related staff. 01-Sep-2004 Wentworth Golf Club, the Surrey-based club that is 60% owned by Chelsfield, has received takeover offers from three different sources and is expected to be sold for more than £90m. 30-Aug-2004 Sheffield United Football Club is planning to raise up to £8.8m in a share offer to fund the purchase of new players. 30-Aug-2004 Durham County Cricket Club is considering plans to become the first cricket club with a stockmarket listing, in order to raise funds to expand its stadium. 27-Aug-2004 London Clubs International and Planet Hollywood's owner have unveiled plans for the development of a £5m casino at St James's in London. 27-Aug-2004 MyTravel is to close its travel base in Stansted with the loss of about 50 jobs, as part of a company-wide restructuring process. 26-Aug-2004 Coventry City Council has awarded a £10m contract to InteriorExterior to extend the Herbert Art Gallery. 26-Aug-2004 One NorthEast has announced that Wynyard Golf Club, near Stockton, has been selected to host the Seve Trophy tournament in 2005, which is expected to create 100 jobs. 25-Aug-2004 Wirral Council is in discussions with the National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats about plans to build the world's largest aquarium, but alternative locations are also being considered near Bedford and Bristol. 25-Aug-2004 Burford and Morgan Hotels Group are looking to sell two London hotels - the St Martins Lane and the Sanderson - for more than £100m. 25-Aug-2004 Suffolk Coastal Council is considering plans from Suffolk Punch Trust for the development of a £4m heritage and visitor centre near Woodbridge, with the creation of up to 30 jobs. 24-Aug-2004 Center Parcs is to invest a further £40m at its four holiday villages, including new chalets and leisure facilities. 23-Aug-2004 London Clubs International is set to agree terms to open a 50,000 sq ft casino at the £200m Clarence Dock development in Leeds. 23-Aug-2004 Camden Council is to consider plans from Mahattan Loft Corporation to set up a five-star 244-room Marriott hotel at St Pancras Chambers. 23-Aug-2004 Hearts has agreed to sell its Tynecastle football stadium in Edinburgh to Cala for £22m, subject to the granting of residential consent, and is now expected to relocate to Murrayfield. 20-Aug-2004 Delancey Estates is looking to sell the 135,000 sq ft Millennium Plaza leisure development in Cardiff for about £23m. 19-Aug-2004 Doncaster Council is to consider revised plans to build a larger 15,000-capacity football stadium for Doncaster Rovers. 18-Aug-2004 Far Grange Park in East Yorkshire is planning to create a £5.8m woodland village, in order to attract more than 70,000 tourists each year. 18-Aug-2004 Rank is in talks to acquire Sporting Options, the betting exchange valued at about £4m. 18-Aug-2004 The Edinburgh International Conference Centre is planning a £80m expansion project, in order to almost double its capacity and allow it to host major indoor sports events. 18-Aug-2004 Falkirk Council is in discussions with Global Restaround Enterprises of the Netherlands about the possibility of building a £850m UFO theme park on a 150-acre site in Bonnybridge. 17-Aug-2004 Urbium is selling its two Apt and Polaris venues in Birmingham, in order to focus on its core Tiger Tiger brand and its operations in London. 16-Aug-2004 London Clubs International is in talks with Capital & Regional about plans to set up a 46,000 sq ft casino at the Great Northern Warehouse complex in Manchester. 16-Aug-2004 Sandwell Council is drawing up plans to spend £10m on the transformation of Oldbury Leisure Centre. 16-Aug-2004 Cannons is said to be looking to sell the Harbour fitness club in west London. 16-Aug-2004 P&O is looking to sell La Manga, the Spanish luxury resort, for more than £100m. 16-Aug-2004 The Towerlands Centre in Braintree has been acquired by Unex Holdings, and is expected to be transformed into one of Europe's leading all-weather equestrian and leisure arenas. 13-Aug-2004 InterContinental Hotels has sold the Holiday Inn Preston to Centre Island of Liverpool for undisclosed terms, and the site will undergo a £1.5m refurbishment. 11-Aug-2004 Northampton Theatres Trust is planning to refurbish the Royal and Derngate Theatres in Northampton at a cost of £7.8m. 11-Aug-2004 Whitbread is seeking permission to open a 49-bedroom Premier Travel Inn at Carrickfergus Marina in 2006, with the creation of 80 jobs. 10-Aug-2004 Punch Taverns is to invest £5m in its pubs in the Liverpool area over the next 12 months. 10-Aug-2004 Capital Pub Company is planning to float on Aim in March 2006 with a valuation of more than £20m, and £10m of new funds will be raised. 10-Aug-2004 Whiteground, the Tyneside-based art dealer, has secured a £0.25m investment from Evolve Finance to establish a network of franchises across the country. 09-Aug-2004 Preston Council is to seek lottery funding to set up a new £7m events venue in Avenham Park. 09-Aug-2004 London Town Hotels has acquired the 95-room London Crown Hotel in Paddington for about £15m. 09-Aug-2004 Millennium & Copthorne is considering plans to add casinos to some of its hotels, including the Copthorne Tara in London and the Copthorne Effingham Park near Gatwick. 09-Aug-2004 Lastminute.com is planning to close ten of its 25 offices, including six in the UK, with the loss of 350 jobs. 06-Aug-2004 Perth & Kinross Council has approved plans from Edinburgh-based project consultant RPS to set up a six-star hotel at Taymouth Castle, with the creation of 300 jobs. 06-Aug-2004 Chelsfield is planning to include a large casino in London's £2bn White City shopping and leisure scheme, and has already been approached by a number of casino operators. 03-Aug-2004 Scottish & Newcastle has been selected as preferred bidder to manage and develop a chain of canal side pubs for British Waterways. 03-Aug-2004 Malmaison and Mersey Docks have reached agreement to build a £24m riverside hotel next to the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool by summer 2006. 02-Aug-2004 Fishbourne Roman Palace has secured a £2.5m grant from the Lottery Heritage Fund to develop and improve its museum site near Chichester. 02-Aug-2004 The Scottish Executive is to provide £51m of funding for the development of a series of sporting venues across Scotland, including sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk and Aberdeen. 02-Aug-2004 Mooney Hotel Group has announced plans to replace the Wellington Park Hotel in Belfast with a £30m hotel, apartments and a retail complex. 02-Aug-2004 Liverpool Football Club has won planning permission to build a £80m 60,000-seat stadium at Stanley Park. 02-Aug-2004 Westminster City Council is looking to develop a permanent 7,500 sq ft ice rink and leisure complex at Marble Arch. 02-Aug-2004 Kerzner International is planning to invest £190m in the development of a casino at the Millennium Dome in London. 15-Jul-2004 Center Parcs is considering plans to set up a chain of standalone Aqua Sana health and beauty spas. 15-Jul-2004 Nuneaton Borough has won planning permission to build a new football stadium at Attleborough. 14-Jul-2004 Kerzner International has been selected as preferred bidder to develop a £160m casino and hotel complex at the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre in Glasgow. 13-Jul-2004 Travelodge is planning to raise £400m through the sale and leaseback of 136 hotel properties, and CB Richard Ellis has been appointed to manage the process. 12-Jul-2004 University College Chester is planning to build a multi-million pound performing arts centre with seating for 1,000 people at its Parkgate Road campus. 12-Jul-2004 Manchester City Council has selected Kerzner International and Ask Developments to build the £260m Sportcity casino and sports complex, including hotel, ice rink, swimming pool and artificial beach. 12-Jul-2004 ECI Ventures has raised £13m to fund the development of 20 new Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia restaurants. 05-Jul-2004 Furlong Hotels is in negotiations to acquire Home House, the members' club at Portman Square in London, for about £20m. 05-Jul-2004 St Helens Council is to consider plans from Langtree to build a new rugby stadium for St Helens Rugby League Football Club, and Harrah's Entertainment of the US will develop 250,000 sq ft of leisure space at the site. 05-Jul-2004 Carmarthenshire County Council is in discussions with Llanelli Scarlets about plans to build a new multi-million pound rugby stadium at Pemberton in Llanelli. 02-Jul-2004 Glasgow Science Centre is to shed 18 jobs as part of a new two-year funding deal with the Scottish Executive. 30-Jun-2004 Virgin is to close its Travelstore travel agency business, with the loss of 180 jobs in Gorleston, Norfolk, and 50 jobs in London. 30-Jun-2004 Virgin is moving into the online betting and casino market through a joint venture with WagerWorks. 28-Jun-2004 NM Rothschild has been hired by Wellington Pub Company to consider plans for the possible £400m sale of Wellington's chain of 830 pubs. 28-Jun-2004 Birmingham City Football Club is to conduct a feasibility study into plans for a new 60,000-seat stadium. 25-Jun-2004 Tameside Council has appointed Watkin Jones to work on the £100m canal side development in Droylsden over the next five years, including 300 apartments, a 60-bed hotel and a marina. 24-Jun-2004 Glasgow City Council has approved plans for the development of a £40m casino, and London Clubs International expects to start work next year. 24-Jun-2004 BDL Management is planning to start work on the development of a £8m 130-room hotel on St James's Boulevard in Newcastle this summer. 23-Jun-2004 Rochford District Council is to consider plans from Indoor Golf Centre to set up a £0.5m indoor golf complex in Hockley. 22-Jun-2004 Mid Suffolk District Council has received a planning application from Onslow Suffolk for the development of a £320m Snoasis winter sports complex in Great Blakenham, which could create 1,300 jobs. 21-Jun-2004 North East Lincolnshire Council has approved plans from Maltgrade to set up a £2m luxury health club at Meridian Point in Cleethorpes by October, with the creation of 20 jobs. 21-Jun-2004 The Grand Opera House in Belfast has unveiled plans for a £9m extension, including a new educational suite with a 150-seat studio theatre, and work will start next spring. 17-Jun-2004 Bath & North East Somerset Council is to consider plans from Trevor Osborne Property Group for the multi-million pound transformation of the Gainsborough Building in Bath into a luxury spa hotel. 17-Jun-2004 Shearings, the Wigan-based holiday operator with 226 coaches and 36 hotels, has dropped plans for a flotation and would now consider a takeover offer. 17-Jun-2004 Quintain Estates has shortlisted Costain, Galliford Try and Sisk for a £20m project to refurbish the Wembley Arena concert venue. 17-Jun-2004 Perth & Kinross Council is to consider plans from JWK to build a £40m five-star hotel, including conference and theatre facilities, at Kinfauns near Perth. 15-Jun-2004 The Environment Agency and Fens Tourism are preparing plans for the development of a £170m system of waterways across the Fens, in order to boost tourism and connect rivers and canals between Lincoln, Peterborough and Ely. 15-Jun-2004 York City is to relocate to a new £8.5m 10,000-capacity football stadium in ten years time, as part of a requirement for a £2m loan. 14-Jun-2004 Trafford Council has selected Sterling St James as its preferred developer for a £70m ice rink and hotel complex in Altrincham, and work could start later this year. 10-Jun-2004 Travelodge has won permission to set up a 120-bed budget hotel in Tolworth Tower, Surbiton. 10-Jun-2004 Scottish Opera is to shed about 80 jobs from its 208-strong workforce, as part of a £7m agreement with the Scottish Executive to secure its future. 08-Jun-2004 Arts Council England is in negotiations to set up a new 45,000 sq ft headquarters at Metropolis House in London's Tottenham Court Road. 07-Jun-2004 Carmarthenshire County Council is considering plans to build a £7m theatre at the Millennium Coastal park in Llanelli. 04-Jun-2004 Radisson SAS is recruiting 80 staff for a new £14m hotel due to open in Belfast in August. 04-Jun-2004 Wolverhampton Wanderers is to seek planning permission to build a £3m football training facility at Compton Park. 03-Jun-2004 Madisons Coffee is to change its name to Gourmet Holdings, and is looking to acquire small branded restaurant chains. 02-Jun-2004 AMF Bowling, the chain of 33 bowling centres, has been put up for sale by its US parent with an estimated value of £40m. 01-Jun-2004 St Mirren is planning to sell its Love Street football stadium and build a new one nearby. 01-Jun-2004 Wyre Council is to consider plans from Barton Grange Group for a £12m leisure development in Myerscough, including a marina, hotel and garden centre, with the creation of almost 400 jobs. 01-Jun-2004 Coventry City Council is to spend £2.3m refurbishing and extending public libraries in the city. 01-Jun-2004 Bank of Scotland has provided £17m of funding to Longshot to expand its chain of restaurants. 31-May-2004 MKM Group is to raise £1.4m in a flotation on Aim, in order to expand its travel and promotions business. 31-May-2004 WestLB has failed to reach agreement for the sale of its 43% stake in the Odeon chain of 600 cinema screens, and the entire Odeon business is now expected to be put up for auction. 31-May-2004 InterContinental Hotels is looking to sell off hotels worth up to £500m, but a specific list of sites has not yet been prepared. 31-May-2004 Newark & Sherwood District Council has selected a site next to Newark Cattle Market as the preferred location to build a £9m leisure centre, and companies will be invited to bid for various contracts. 28-May-2004 The Welsh Development Agency has selected Discovery Properties as the preferred developer for the £50m leisure element of the SA1 waterfront scheme in Swansea, and plans include a casino, cinema and bowling. 28-May-2004 Carlisle City Council is to invest £1.5m in the upgrade of Sheepmount Stadium, while £2m of funding will be provided by Sport England and the Football Foundation. 27-May-2004 Sunderland Council is considering plans from Auld Bros for the development of a £1m fitness centre and pub in Springwell Road, Washington. 25-May-2004 Hull City Council and the Stadium Management Company are in discussions with Las Vegas Sands about plans to build a £65m casino and leisure complex at the Kingston Communications Stadium. 25-May-2004 The UK Film Council has announced that 250 digital projectors will be installed in 150 cinemas across the country by the end of 2004, using £13m of lottery funding. 18-May-2004 Dawnay Day and JH Entertainment are planning to set up a number of children's entertainment and restaurant centres under the Hannah Banana brand, and sites are being sought within the M25. 17-May-2004 Clapham House is to raise £7m in a share placing to fund the acquisition of new sites for its restaurants business. 17-May-2004 The East of England Showground near Peterborough is planning to invest £4m in new facilities over the next five years, including an 80,000sq ft exhibition hall. 14-May-2004 South Gloucestershire Council is planning to build a £6m leisure centre in Longwell Green. 13-May-2004 Whitbread has put its 11 Courtyard by Marriott hotels up for sale with an estimated value of £60m, in order to focus on its budget and four-star brands. 13-May-2004 Sefton Council is to consider plans for the £30m redevelopment of Aintree racecourse, which will involve building two new grandstands by 2007. 12-May-2004 North Shropshire District Council has approved plans for the £10m expansion of the Hill Valley Golf & Country Club, with the creation of 60 jobs. 12-May-2004 Shetland Museum has awarded a £6.4m contract to Ditt Construction to build new facilities in Lerwick. 12-May-2004 Ebookers is planning to close ten travel shops with the loss of 270 jobs, including 170 in the UK. 11-May-2004 De Vere has secured planning permission to build a £50m golf and leisure resort on a 300-acre site at Loch Lomond. 11-May-2004 Bristol City Council is in discussions with Kuumba about plans to set up a £5m arts centre at Westmorland House in Stokes Croft, including a 400-seat auditorium and dance studio. 07-May-2004 Boston United is looking into the possibility of building a new out-of-town football stadium. 05-May-2004 West Norfolk Council is considering plans for the development of a £35m health, beauty and leisure complex at The Granary in Docking, with the creation of 200 jobs. 05-May-2004 Carlton Clubs is said to be considering plans for a flotation to fund the expansion of its chain of 18 bingo clubs in Scotland and the north-east of England. 05-May-2004 Queens Moat Houses is expected to sell its UK hotels for about £350m over the next few weeks, while its 26 Dutch hotels and 24 German hotels will also be sold off. 04-May-2004 Sefton Council is seeking funding to build a £1m aviation museum and extreme sports activity centre at the Ainsdale Lido in Southport. 03-May-2004 Malmaison is planning to double its chain of seven boutique hotels over the next four years, including new sites in Belfast, Liverpool and Oxford. 03-May-2004 Travelodge is planning to set up a 100-bedroom hotel at the Fort Dunlop development in Birmingham. 03-May-2004 Laurel Pub Company is looking to sell off its chain of 432 neighbourhood pubs for about £400m, in order to focus on high street sites. 03-May-2004 University College Worcester is planning to start building a new £100m campus in Castle Street later this year, including accommodation for 400 students, a conference centre and a library. 30-Apr-2004 Invest NI is providing £0.5m of financial assistance to a £3.7m project to build a 3-star Comfort hotel at Dunsilly in Antrim. 30-Apr-2004 North Cornwall District Council is supporting proposals from a co-founder of the Eden Project to develop a tourist attraction called the Great Atlantic Way, which will include a £25m visitor centre. 30-Apr-2004 London Borough of Lewisham is planning to build a £7m leisure centre and swimming pool on the Sundermead Estate. 29-Apr-2004 North Tyneside Council is to consider plans from Stadium Developments to build a £10m Soccerdome in North Shields, with the creation of 80 jobs. 29-Apr-2004 Exeter City Council is in talks with Hotel Du Vin about the possibility of developing a boutique-style hotel in the city's Rougemont Castle. 28-Apr-2004 Gillingham Football Club is considering plans to build a new football stadium and leisure complex at Temple Marsh. 27-Apr-2004 Bolton Council is considering plans to build a new £2m swimming pool and leisure centre near Bolton Institute, and discussions are taking place with Serco. 27-Apr-2004 Wigan Council has approved plans from Greenbank Partnerships to build a £43m sports village in Leigh, which could create 2,000 jobs. 27-Apr-2004 Cains is planning a multi-million pound acquisition programme to expand its chain of 11 Merseyside-based pubs to 100 by 2007. 26-Apr-2004 Derby Hotels of Spain has made its first move into the UK with the purchase of the 160-room Caesar Hotel in London for £20m. 26-Apr-2004 Pembrokeshire County Council is to consider plans for the £70m Martello Quays development at Pembroke Dock, including new homes, mooring facilities and a leisure complex. 22-Apr-2004 Conwy Council is to consider plans from SFJ for the multi-million pound transformation of the derelict Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw into a hotel. 22-Apr-2004 Pembrokeshire County Council has awarded a £4.3m contract to Cotton to build a leisure centre in Fishguard. 22-Apr-2004 The Royal Festival Hall in London is expected to select a preferred bidder for a £45m refurbishment project in June. 21-Apr-2004 Warwick District Council is to receive plans for the redevelopment of Stoneleigh Park within the next few weeks, which is expected to create the country's leading agricultural centre and increase annual visitor numbers from 1.25m to 3m. 20-Apr-2004 Center Parcs has announced a £2.5m plan to expand its holiday village at Elveden in Suffolk. 20-Apr-2004 Suffolk Wildlife Park is planning a number of improvements to attract more visitors to its 80-acre site, including new restaurant facilities. 20-Apr-2004 MGM Mirage has announced plans to build casinos worth £650m in Manchester, Liverpool, Salford and Glasgow, in partnership with Peel Holdings. 20-Apr-2004 GB Holiday Parks, the operator of 18 caravan parks, is looking to sell or float the business with a valuation of up to £100m. 19-Apr-2004 CNG Travel Group, the supplier of hotel rooms to the corporate market, is planning to raise £20m in a flotation on Aim next month. 19-Apr-2004 Aviemore Highland Resort has announced that a total of £80m will be spent at the site over the next few years, and a further 400 jobs will created on top of the 280 already planned. 16-Apr-2004 The Empire Theatre in Sunderland is to close for nine months for a £4.6m refurbishment project. 15-Apr-2004 Peel Holdings is relaunching plans for the development of a £100m racecourse, golf course and hotel at Salford Forest Park, which could create 500 jobs. 14-Apr-2004 Plymouth City Council and Trinity House are considering plans for the £2m transformation of the Plymouth Dome tourist attraction into a national lighthouse museum. 14-Apr-2004 Willmott Dixon has won a £4m contract to build a leisure centre at the Bicester Golf & Country Club in Oxfordshire. 08-Apr-2004 Harrogate International Centre has awarded a £3.8m contract to Caddick Construction to build new conference facilities. 08-Apr-2004 Esporta is to set up a £10m health club in Bath and acquire a new site in Worcester, using the proceeds of a £33m sale and leaseback deal with Standard Life. 06-Apr-2004 Ragdale Hall is planning to expand the 520-strong workforce at its health spa in Leicestershire when new facilities open next year. 05-Apr-2004 The North West Development Agency is supporting plans from Sefton Council to build a £10m arts and cultural centre at Waterloo on Merseyside, to replace the Plaza cinema. 02-Apr-2004 Oakwood is planning to build a £3m rollercoaster at its theme park in Pembrokeshire by 2005. 02-Apr-2004 Borough of Poole has approved plans for the £8m transformation of Poole Aquarium, including a new restaurant and apartment complex. 01-Apr-2004 Gateshead Council is planning to build a £9.8m regional performance centre for athletics. 01-Apr-2004 The RAF Museum Cosford in Shropshire is planning to build a £9m hangar to house a number of aircraft in its museum grounds. 01-Apr-2004 Norwich City Council is to consider plans to build a six-storey 104-bedroom hotel at the entrance to the new bus station being developed in Norwich by Dencora Construction. 31-Mar-2004 The National Forest has announced plans to treble in size over the next ten years, leading to the development of new camping sites, hotels and a possible holiday village. 31-Mar-2004 Groupe Chez Gerard and Bertorelli are to expand their restaurant chains across the country, under plans announced by parent company Paramount. 30-Mar-2004 North Lincolnshire Council is looking to build a £12m sports academy to replace two leisure centres, and is considering sites at Glanford Park, Quibell Park and Central Park. 29-Mar-2004 Travelodge is acquiring the Drury Lane Moat House hotel in London for £11m, and will spend £3m converting it to a budget hotel. 29-Mar-2004 Shearings, the Wigan-based holiday coach and hotel operator valued at about £100m, is expected to be put up for sale by Bridgepoint Capital. 29-Mar-2004 Wolverhampton & Dudley is planning to open 50 pubs a year over the next few years, and is particularly interested in sites on new housing developments. 26-Mar-2004 Macdonald Hotels is to invest £8m at the Tickled Trout hotel in Preston, including a new conference and banqueting suite for up to 600 people and the creation of 60 jobs. 26-Mar-2004 Aberdeen City Council is to bid for £16m of funding from the Scottish Executive and Sportscotland to help fund the construction of a £28m sports complex. 25-Mar-2004 Advantage West Midlands and Wolverhampton City Council have announced plans for the £1.5m restoration of the Molineux Hotel in Wolverhampton. 24-Mar-2004 Coventry City Council is to consider plans from Oakmoor Estates and Deeley Properties for the £100m transformation of the city centre, including two hotels, a casino and shops. 24-Mar-2004 Bannatyne Fitness is planning to expand its chain of 32 fitness clubs with a further five in the next 15 months, while 100 jobs are currently being created in Skelmersdale, Banbury and Folkestone. 24-Mar-2004 Glasgow Rangers Football Club is planning to build a £120m entertainment complex next to its Ibrox stadium, including a hotel, casino and community sports facility. 24-Mar-2004 Swindon Town Football Club is expected to submit plans later this year to build a new £20m stadium on the site of Old Shaw tip. 24-Mar-2004 Ebookers, the online travel agency, is planning to dispose of nine retail outlets and shed some of its 850 UK-based staff. 23-Mar-2004 Travelscene is creating 17 new jobs in Liverpool, having won contracts to operate tours for Saga Holidays and P&O Ferries. 22-Mar-2004 Next Generation is to set up a 125,000 sq ft fitness club at Carlton Park in Leicester, and work will start later this year. 22-Mar-2004 Enterprise Inns has sold 241 pubs to a new company called Admiral Taverns for £62m, and Admiral will sell on 155 pubs to County Estate Management. 22-Mar-2004 Las Vegas Sands of the US is thought to be interested in setting up large casino and entertainment complexes at a number of football grounds, including Rangers, Arsenal, Tottenham, Celtic, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Sunderland. 19-Mar-2004 Brunel University has awarded a £4.5m contract to Galliford Try to build an indoor athletics track at its campus in Uxbridge. 18-Mar-2004 Yehudi Menuhin School of Music has awarded a £3.3m contract to R Durtnell to build a new concert hall in Cobham. 18-Mar-2004 Southwark Council is to lease its leisure centres to Fusion, a community-orientated organisation, and £25m will be spent on improving the sites in Camberwell, Peckham Pulse, Dulwich, Surrey Docks and Seven Islands. 18-Mar-2004 Manchester City Council is in discussions with a number of international gambling operators about plans for a casino and hotel complex at Sportcity in the east of the city. 18-Mar-2004 Walsall Football Club has won planning permission to build a new stand at the Bescot Stadium with an extra 2,300 seats. 18-Mar-2004 Woodland Grange is planning a £5m expansion programme at its residential training and conference centre in Leamington Spa. 17-Mar-2004 British Waterways is planning to shed 140 jobs at offices nationwide, in order to release funds for maintenance work. 17-Mar-2004 Sport England is to help fund the £1.7m restoration of Bolton's Leverhulme Park, including a new indoor sports complex. 16-Mar-2004 Liverpool City Council is in discussions with three unnamed international gambling groups about plans to set up a £20m casino complex on the banks of the Mersey. 15-Mar-2004 Norfolk County Council and David Lloyd Leisure are planning to build a £10m sports and leisure complex in the grounds of Hewett School, Norwich. 15-Mar-2004 City of Edinburgh Council is seeking funding for a £110m project to improve sporting facilities, including the £24m revamp of the Royal Commonwealth Pool and the construction of a £37m athletics and rugby stadium at Sighthill. 15-Mar-2004 Center Parcs is seeking a site south of Birmingham to set up a fifth holiday village, and is also looking into the possibility of opening casinos at its existing sites. 15-Mar-2004 Aberdeen City Council is considering plans from David Lloyd and the Stewart Milne Group to build a £10m sports and leisure centre at Garthdee. 12-Mar-2004 Oldfields Restaurants has secured £1.5m of venture capital to start the nationwide expansion of its chain of restaurants, and sites are being sought in Leeds, Harrogate, Manchester and Scotland. 11-Mar-2004 Laurel Pub Company is said to be planning to appoint NM Rothschild to handle the sale of its 619 pubs, in a deal worth up to £500m. 11-Mar-2004 Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum is expected to be sold by East Sussex County Council back to its founding family. 10-Mar-2004 Terra Firma Capital Partners is seeking a buyer for Wizard Inns, the chain of 64 pubs. 10-Mar-2004 Dumfries & Galloway Council is planning to build a £13m leisure centre in Dumfries by 2006. 09-Mar-2004 St Albans District Council has approved plans from the Butterfly World charitable trust for the development of a £15m butterfly centre next to the Gardens of the Rose in Chiswell Green. 09-Mar-2004 Swansea Council is to consider plans from Brunswick Mansford to build a £30m leisure complex at Salubrious Place, including casino and cinema. 09-Mar-2004 Spirit Group is to sell 220 pubs to a consortium of property investors led by West Coast Capital in a £500m sale and leaseback deal. 09-Mar-2004 London Clubs International has announced a £49m share issue, in order to reduce debt and prepare for the deregulation of the gambling sector by expanding three of its London casinos. 08-Mar-2004 United Cinemas International, the operator of 380 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, is to be sold by Vivendi Universal and Paramount Pictures, and a shortlist of bidders has been prepared by investment bank Merrill Lynch. 08-Mar-2004 Manchester United is considering plans to expand its Old Trafford football stadium from a capacity of 67,500 to 75,000. 08-Mar-2004 Oswestry Town Council is working on plans for the development of a multi-million pound sports park, including swimming pools and a 3,000-seater football stadium, but the location has not been confirmed. 05-Mar-2004 Nottinghamshire County Council is planning to build a new Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre, and Derby-based Lathams Architects is conducting a feasibility study. 05-Mar-2004 The Arts Council has awarded a £1.2m provisional grant to the Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, to help with a £2m restoration project. 05-Mar-2004 Cadw, the Welsh heritage organisation, is to set up a new 26,000 sq ft headquarters at the Cefn Coed site in Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff. 04-Mar-2004 Golden Tulip UK is planning to open 20 hotels over the next three years, including freehold, leasehold and franchise properties. 04-Mar-2004 Individual Restaurant Company is planning to open 15 Bar&Grill and Piccolino restaurants across the country over the next three years, following a £18m buy-out of the existing six sites. 03-Mar-2004 Rotherham Council is seeking funding for a £21m investment in four new swimming pools in Wath, Swinton, Aston and the town centre. 03-Mar-2004 Spirit is looking to sell up to 140 Premier Lodge budget hotels, which could raise about £500m. 03-Mar-2004 Whitbread has won a contract to operate the refurbished Midland Grand Hotel in London, once it reopens in 2008. 02-Mar-2004 Loch Lomond Shores, the Balloch tourist attraction, is to shed 20 of the 70 jobs at Drumkinnon Tower. 02-Mar-2004 Thanet District Council is in discussions with Margate Football Club about plans to build a new stadium. 02-Mar-2004 Carluccio's is planning to expand its restaurant chain from 13 outlets to 20 this year. 01-Mar-2004 The Arts Council has awarded a £1m grant to Mind the Gap, the Bradford-based theatre company looking to build a new £4m "creation centre" for disabled artists. 01-Mar-2004 Rank is planning to expand its casino operations by applying for five new regional licences, and will open its first Blue Square betting shop in London. 01-Mar-2004 Torbay Council has secured a £4.9m lottery grant to help fund the £15m restoration of the historic Torre Abbey into a major visitor attraction. 27-Feb-2004 The Arts Council has awarded a £2.5m grant to the Quad consortium for the development of a £14m visual arts and media centre in Derby's Market Place. 27-Feb-2004 Mac, the Birmingham-based arts centre, is to undergo a £18m refurbishment, including a new 500 seat auditorium, and work will start in 2006. 26-Feb-2004 Wolverhampton Council is to consider plans for the expansion of Wolverhampton Art Gallery, backed by a £5m lottery grant. 26-Feb-2004 Paddy Power of Ireland is planning to expand its chain of 15 UK betting shops to about 30 this year, and hopes to reach 170 sites eventually. 26-Feb-2004 The Arts Council has awarded a £2.5m grant to DanceEast for the development of a £5.8m dance facility at Cranfield's Mill in Ipswich. 25-Feb-2004 Leicester City Council is seeking a private developer to build a new leisure centre in Perry Hall Park, Perry Barr, to replace the existing Beeches Pool. 25-Feb-2004 The Pegasus Theatre in Oxford has secured a £2.7m lottery grant to refurbish its existing site and build a new arts centre. 25-Feb-2004 Center Parcs is planning to relocate its headquarters to a 36,000 sq ft office at the Sherwood Energy Village in Nottinghamshire next year. 25-Feb-2004 Galgorm Manor in Ballymena is to start work on a new £7m upmarket leisure and tourism complex later this year, including spa resort, restaurant and conference facilities, which will create 40 jobs. 25-Feb-2004 Paramount Hotels has acquired the Midland Hotel in Manchester for £36m, and will spend £12m on a refurbishment. 25-Feb-2004 Greenwich Council has approved plans from the Meridian Delta consortium for the redevelopment of London's 190-acre Millennium Dome site, including a hotel, sports arena, casino and housing. 25-Feb-2004 Hull Truck Theatre is to receive a £4m council grant to go towards the development of a new £13m theatre and studio complex in Hull. 24-Feb-2004 Neath Port Talbot Council is considering plans from Thomas Group Holdings to build a 70-bedroom hotel and leisure complex in Port Talbot. 23-Feb-2004 Gala Casinos is planning to open a 42,500 sq ft casino at the Leisure Exchange in Bradford in October. 23-Feb-2004 Nottingham City Council has approved plans from Urban Innovations for the development of a 13-storey hotel and office building on the junction of London Road and Station Street. 20-Feb-2004 Thomas Cook is to create 200 new jobs at its travel call centre in Larbert, near Falkirk. 19-Feb-2004 Congleton Borough Council is to consider plans from MID Point Sports for the development of a £26m leisure complex in Middlewich, including an Olympic-size swimming pool and the creation of 150 jobs. 19-Feb-2004 Mansfield District Council is considering plans from Mansfield Land Development to build a hotel, office and apartments complex on the site of the town's former brewery, with the creation of up to 900 jobs. 19-Feb-2004 William Birch has won a £1.6m contract to develop a visitor centre at the Hardcastle Crags mill in West Yorkshire. 19-Feb-2004 InnSpired, the chain of 1,100 pubs, is said to have been put up for sale with a valuation of about £350m. 18-Feb-2004 The Wales Millennium Centre is to create about 100 jobs when it opens the new arts centre in Cardiff in November. 17-Feb-2004 Luminar Leisure is to open a £1m Chicago Rock Cafe in Chester-le-Street at the end of March, with the creation of 40 jobs. 16-Feb-2004 The Glencoe and Glenshee ski centres in Scotland have been put up for sale by the Glenshee Chairlift Company. 16-Feb-2004 Brown's Hotel in central London is to close for almost a year to undergo a £15m refurbishment. 16-Feb-2004 Rother District Council has appointed three architects to draw-up plans for a seafront hotel complex in Bexhill, including shops, offices and apartments. 13-Feb-2004 Glasgow City Council is to consider plans from CGM Oswald for the development of a casino, bar and nightclub complex in the space below Glasgow Central station. 13-Feb-2004 Denbighshire County Council is to consider plans for a £1.6m visitor and heritage centre in the grounds of St Asaph Cathedral. 12-Feb-2004 InterContinental Hotels is said to be considering plans to sell off up to 20 hotels, including properties in Manchester, Edinburgh and Crawley, and a number of former Posthouse hotels. 12-Feb-2004 Lichfield District Council is looking to develop the facilities at Chasewater Country Park, in order to attract more visitors and create up to 120 new jobs. 11-Feb-2004 The RSPB and Lancashire County Council are working on proposals to create a £7m bird and wildlife park on the Ribble Estuary, including two visitor centres. 11-Feb-2004 Queens Moat Houses has sold the Edinburgh Capital Moat House to Portland Hotels for £5.3m. 11-Feb-2004 Leicester City Council is to seek Arts Council funding for the development of a £7m "world cinema and moving images centre" in the city's St George's cultural area. 10-Feb-2004 The Springfield Hotel in Holywell, Clwyd, is to undergo a £1m refurbishment with the creation of 50 new jobs. 09-Feb-2004 Dunlop Slazenger, the sports products company, has been sold by Cinven to Sports World International for an estimated £40m. 06-Feb-2004 Newmarket Racecourse has won approval from Forest Heath District Council to set up an all-weather track, at an estimated cost of £6m. 06-Feb-2004 Ryedale District Council is linking up with the Forestry Commission and Yorkshire Forward to unveil plans for a £4.3m investment at Dalby Forest near Pickering, including a £2.5m visitor centre. 05-Feb-2004 LA Fitness is planning to open up to eight fitness clubs during the next financial year. 05-Feb-2004 Wandsworth Borough Council is to consider plans from the Lawn Tennis Association to build a £40m National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. 05-Feb-2004 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council has approved plans to rebuild the National Motorcycle Museum, following a recent fire that caused damage estimated at £14m. 04-Feb-2004 The Tees Valley Partnership has announced plans to invest £24m in a series of regeneration projects on Teesside, including £2.7m for the planned Middlesbrough Art Galley. 04-Feb-2004 Aberdeen City Council is to consider plans for the development of a £3m tennis and squash centre on Craigton Road, under the name of Racquets Village. 04-Feb-2004 MGM Mirage of the US and British Land have announced plans to build a £250m casino, hotel and leisure complex next to the Meadowhall Centre in Sheffield, which would create about 2,000 jobs. 04-Feb-2004 Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust has awarded a £17m contract to Mowlem to refurbish the Weston Park Museum. 04-Feb-2004 Blackburn with Darwen Council has approved plans from the Property Alliance Group to build a £10m cinema complex on Penny Street, and Apollo Cinemas is expected to operate the site. 03-Feb-2004 Bromsgrove District Council and a consortium of other Worcestershire-based councils have been awarded £10m of government cash to improve parks and open spaces, and similar awards have been made in other parts of the country. 03-Feb-2004 Torbay Council is to consider plans from Newton Abbot-based Monarch Houses to build a £10m hotel, casino and health spa on the site of the Palm Court Hotel in Torquay. 03-Feb-2004 The Victoria & Albert Museum has secured a £5.4m donation to fund the revamp of its Islamic art exhibition. 03-Feb-2004 STA Travel, the travel agency with 65 branches in the UK, has hired investment bank UBS to conduct a strategic review of the business, which could lead to a £66m sale. 02-Feb-2004 English Heritage has awarded grants totalling £2m to pay for repairs at 20 cathedrals. 30-Jan-2004 Bristol City Council has secured a £11m lottery grant to build a Museum of Bristol. 30-Jan-2004 Carmarthenshire County Council has awarded a £1.6m contract to Port Talbot-based Andrew Scott to build a visitor centre for Llanelli's Millennium Coastal Park. 29-Jan-2004 Vimac Leisure is to invest £5m in new venues this year with the creation of more than 100 jobs, and is seeking three suitable sites in the north-east. 27-Jan-2004 Swansea Council has secured a £3m Sportlot grant to develop a £5m sports village next to the Wales National Pool. 26-Jan-2004 Hays Travel is to create between 50 and 160 new jobs at its travel agency operations across the north-east, including call centre, administration and homeworking jobs. 26-Jan-2004 East Riding Council is being asked by directors of the Pier Company to support plans for the construction of a £15m double-deck pier in Bridlington. 26-Jan-2004 Middlesbrough Borough Council is to receive plans from Springs to open a £4.5m fitness and leisure facility at the Tennis World site, with the creation of 60 jobs. 23-Jan-2004 Bluecoat Arts Centre in Liverpool is to build a new £9m wing to house art galleries and a performance centre, having secured funding from the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. 22-Jan-2004 Crown Sports has sold its Dragons health club in Leamington Spa to The Leamington Property Partnership for £1.3m. 21-Jan-2004 Subsea Explorer is seeking permission to build a marine aquarium and diving centre in Milton Keynes. 21-Jan-2004 Luminar is said to be in negotiations to form a joint venture with Accor Casinos of France, which would involve converting up to 30 of its largest dance venues into gaming-based entertainment centres. 20-Jan-2004 Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service has secured £7m of European and Lottery funding to invest in the refurbishment of 11 museums and monuments by March 2007. 19-Jan-2004 Living Ventures is to spend £8m opening a further seven bars this year, and is looking into the possibility of funding the next stage of development through a flotation. 19-Jan-2004 Capital Pub Company is to raise £10m through the enterprise investment scheme to fund the expansion of its chain of 12 pubs. 19-Jan-2004 Jennings Brothers is planning to spend a further £5m on pub acquisitions and refurbishments across the North this year. 16-Jan-2004 McAlpine has won a contract to build a £16m athletics and sports centre at Willesden in north London. 15-Jan-2004 JJB Sports is planning to expand its chain of health clubs from 16 to 22 this year. 15-Jan-2004 The Minister for Regional Development & Regeneration has announced plans to invest £63m in new country parks in the south-east, in order to support major housing projects in Ashford, Milton Keynes, the M11 corridor and the Thames Gateway. 15-Jan-2004 Punch Taverns is to close the Hartlepool head office of the recently-acquired Pubmaster business with the loss of up to 116 jobs, in order to consolidate operations in Burton-on-Trent. 14-Jan-2004 British Racing Drivers Club has announced plans to build a £30m 120-bedroom hotel and conference centre at the Silverstone circuit. 14-Jan-2004 Bradford Bulls has announced plans to transform Odsal Stadium and its surroundings into a sports and leisure village, including a 3,500-seat indoor arena. 14-Jan-2004 X-Leisure has announced plans for the £4m transformation of Tower Park in Poole into a modern entertainment complex, including three new restaurants. 13-Jan-2004 Bank of Scotland has sold four hotels operated by Queens Moat Houses to Pedersen Group for more than £40m. 13-Jan-2004 Champneys is to close its health club at the Le Meridien Piccadilly hotel in London with the loss of 40 jobs. 13-Jan-2004 Carlisle City Council is considering plans from AWG Developments and H&H to build a £11m four-star hotel and office complex at Rosehill, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. 12-Jan-2004 Isle of Wight Council is to consider a report from the Arup for the multi-million pound regeneration of tourist facilities in the Sandown Bay area, including a water park, extreme sports centre and museum. 12-Jan-2004 Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall is proposing a multi-million pound plan to open more underground workings to the public. 12-Jan-2004 Cannock Chase Council is to consider plans from Pritchard Holdings for a £15m hotel and office development at Churchbridge near the M6 Toll. 09-Jan-2004 De Vere is looking to sell four UK hotels with a book value of £40m, including two Village hotels in Prestwich and Swindon. 08-Jan-2004 Needwood Racing has acquired seven Ray Hamer betting shops in Bury, taking its chain to 40. 08-Jan-2004 Fife Council is considering plans from Carlton Clubs to build a £6m bingo club at the Fife Leisure Park in Dunfermline, with the creation of 70 jobs. 08-Jan-2004 Birmingham Imax Theatre, the 380-seat 3D cinema, has closed due to disappointing audience figures since it opened two years ago. 05-Jan-2004 Fife Council is considering plans to bid for one of the six regional multi-sports centres to be developed by SportsScotland, and is also interested in hosting SportsScotland's new headquarters when it relocates from Edinburgh. 05-Jan-2004 The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport has won a £2m lottery grant to help fund the £3m expansion of its premises. 02-Jan-2004 Queens Moat Houses is said to have appointed Morgan Stanley to seek buyers for its hotel operations, which could be worth up to £700m. 01-Jan-2004 Croydon Council has approved plans from Arrowcroft for a £400m development next to East Croydon station, including a £50m arena and a 34-storey tower block. 01-Jan-2004
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