Campaign group insist council must buy Oasis leisure centre back - but support new deal
The local authority will be debating the new plans to regenerate the site at a meeting next week
Last updated 9th Nov 2023
The campaign group set up by ordinary Swindonians to get the Oasis leisure centre back into use has welcomed the announcement of a deal between Swindon Borough Council and Seven Capital.
But it is adamant the council must buy the refurbished centre back from the development company – which is part of the agreement revealed by council leader Councillor Jim Robbins.
While the council owns the site, Seven Capital is about 10 years into a 99-year lease on the site and building, much of which has now been listed.
Pending cabinet approval next week, agreement has been reached which will see Seven Capital refurbish the site and appoint an operator to open and run it. Once the centre is ready to open the developer will be able to buy the Oasis site and the North Star site across the road for at least £6m, and the company will be able to build houses there, subject to the usual planning consent.
Save Oasis Swindon, which campaigned to have the 1976 dome and pool listed and put pressure on the council and Seven Capital to open the centre said: “The announcement by Swindon Borough Council that they are committed to reopening the Oasis is fully welcome.
“The restoration of the Oasis Leisure Centre is a complex matter, as there are many land figures floating around as part of this deal with Seven Capital. The Oasis will cost approximately £20m to restore, and houses will need to be built to pay for this. The Oasis will only be worth about £2.5m once restored.”
As part of the deal the £270m indoor ski and snow centre planned for the North Star site by Seven Capital has finally been abandoned, declared “unviable”, and SOS is sanguine about this, accepting the huge costs of running such a facility.
The group is also very keen to see the council exercise any buyback options in the agreement, which is not in the cabinet report available to the public but was mentioned by council leader Councillor Jim Robbins.
The group said “Save Oasis Swindon wants to see Swindon Borough Council fully committed to buying back the Oasis, as it will guarantee its long-term future for future generations.
“There’s no other option available that we would accept. The Oasis must be bought back by the council. At the moment it is a tangled mess and it would be great to see SBC fully in charge of the Oasis again, as it always used to be.
“We will await the cabinet meeting and planning application and then make further comment.”
Read more: Swindon's Oasis Centre could be sold for £6m, under new proposals