Sport England has announced plans for its three largest, multi-million pound, projects which will form part of its strategy to improve elite training facilities in preparation for the 2012 London Games.

Sport England is working with national governing bodies of sport, UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport to develop facilities and replicate design features that athletes will be exposed to when competing. The majority of the investment will be injected into Sport England's five National Sports Centres.

Bisham Abbey, the national centre in Buckinghamshire, is set to undergo a £2.1m redevelopment which will see the facility triple in size. The new building will accommodate an increased number of rehabilitation and training facilities primarily for GB canoeing, rowing and hockey.

Lilleshall in Shropshire will be the subject of two major projects totaling £2,725m. The centre's indoor facilities will be upgraded to include a new video analysis area, fixed speed cameras and improved access to the archery range for Paralympic athletes.

The outdoor archery range will be relocated next to the indoor facility with a new technical area and will be repositioned to face north, to replicate the conditions the archers will face at the Olympics, costing a total of £1m.

The remaining £1,725m will be invested in developing Lilleshall's two new, floodlit, artificial pitches. One will be for elite hockey, to be used by England Hockey as a facility to develop young players through junior camps.

The facilities, managed by Leisure Connection, will also be used by athletes who are part of the talent development pathway as well as by the wider community, as part of Sport England's target to get one million people doing more sport by 2012.

David Tanner, performance manager for the GB Rowing Team, said: "Winning Olympic medals isn't just about those six or so minutes on the water in the final, it is about years of putting in the hard yards.

"Sport England's new investment will help our athletes' training, recovery and rehabilitation as the team knuckles down to the challenge of getting in even better shape for London 2012.

"The facilities will also help the next generation of rowers who'll be pushing the current team hard for places in four years' time."

Construction on these facilities is expected to be completed 31 March 2009.