Leisure Industry News - January 2025

In January, we spotlight key developments, achievements, and changes within the UK leisure industry. From award-winning holiday parks and exciting new hotel openings to major renovations and ambitious regeneration projects, these stories reflect the dynamic growth of the sector. 

Here’s a roundup of the latest updates making waves this month…

• Beverley Holidays in Paignton has been awarded the prestigious Holiday Park of the Year gold accolade at the Devon Tourism Awards, announced during a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Plymouth.

• Construction has begun on a state-of-the-art golf clubhouse and five luxury villas at Felixstowe Ferry in Suffolk, home to the fifth-oldest golf club in England.

• Uxbridge Golf Course in Middlesex temporarily closed on the 14th January due to declining player numbers, with staff moving to the nearby Haste Hill course, which is also at risk of closure due to reduced participation.

• Everlast Gyms has acquired four sites from Roko Health Clubs in Chiswick, Gillingham, Nottingham, and York, with plans for upgrades and potential addition of padel courts to enhance the experience.

• Six Senses, part of IHG's luxury portfolio, will open its first UK property, Six Senses London, in summer 2025 at the iconic Whiteley building in Bayswater, West London, offering 109 guest rooms, 14 residences, diverse dining options, and a unique spa inspired by a classic London Underground station.

• Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa, recently named one of the top thirty spa hotels in Europe by The Guardian, is excited to announce its new Heat and Ice experience, offering guests a rejuvenating facility just in time for the winter season in the northern Lake District.

• Australian budget hotel group LyLo is set to debut its pod hotel concept in London, with retail and leisure agency P-Three appointed to bring the brand to the UK. The group is currently seeking office or retail conversion sites between 15,000 and 50,000 sq ft in Southwark, with other central locations also considered.

• Tides Leisure Centre in Deal, Kent, will close its pool and gym for two years as part of a £19m renovation, pending approval from Dover District Council at a meeting planned this month.

• Revised plans for the Purley Pool and leisure centre redevelopment have progressed, featuring a new leisure centre that will include a 25-metre six-lane pool, training pool, 80-station gym, and fitness and studio spaces.

• Luton Town Football Club's final plans for a new 25,000-seater stadium at Power Court have been approved, following outline permission granted in 2019. The detailed application, submitted by 2020 Developments (Luton) Limited, also includes a music venue and hotel.

• Plans to renovate the 140-year-old Ramsden Building at the University of Huddersfield have been approved, with a major facelift planned, including the installation of air source heat pumps and new electric systems as part of the university's decarbonisation efforts.

• A £100 million tourist attraction, Belfast Stories, is set to open in 2030 as part of a £1 billion regeneration project, becoming a landmark in Northern Ireland's capital.