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February venue news:

•          Work has begun on the site of a £100m riverside development in Hull where Marriott is to open a 185-bedroom Courtyard brand hotel with conference and banqueting facilities.
•          A former Cold War bunker in Preston is to be turned into a banqueting and conference suite for up to 300. Westleigh House in Lea is being developed by the University of Central Lancashire and is due to open this summer.
•          The Savoy in London is planned to open this summer following a £100m refit.
•          A £20m renovation of 16 UK Hilton hotels is planned, with work due to be completed by 2011. Highlights include the launch of ‘The Space’, initially at Hilton Newbury North, which will feature large bookable meetings ‘zones’ as well as ‘superfoods’ within an executive airport lounge style environment.
•          Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre has been saved from receivership after city councillors gave their backing to a fresh financial rescue plan.
•          Burnley FC has announced plans to create the first ‘Football University’, which will feature a ‘StadiArena’ for conferences and exhibitions.

Plus, and not for the faint-hearted, a refurbished ‘Jetliner’ troop transport ship is being hired out as a conference and wedding venue by the Sri Lanka Navy.