Second bid to make Oasis Asset of Community Value turned down
“We know the decision not to list the Oasis as an asset of community value will be unpopular"
Another bid to make the Oasis leisure centre, which has been closed since 2020, an Asset of Community Value has been turned down.
Following the refusal by Swindon Borough Council to list the sports hall at the 49-year-old listed centre in North Star as an ACV when requested by the Save Oasis Swindon campaign group in January, the group tried again in April – this time, its application covered the entire centre.
Its application said: “Save Oasis Swindon is a Community Interest group (not for profit), with the prime focus of pushing for a like-for-like, full Oasis Leisure Centre.
“We have no major issues with the proposed apartments around the site, but have an issue with the proposal to reduce the famous Leisure Centre heavily in size, reducing the facilities available.
“The Oasis Leisure Centre is a prime leisure centre in Swindon, built for the benefit of the community. It has served us for nearly 50 years. The dome and pool were Grade II-listed in 2021, but the Hall was not included in the listing. We are determined to save the whole Oasis Leisure Centre as one complete unit for the people of Swindon.”
But the group has now been informed that the council will not designate the centre as an ACV and it is urging its supporters to attend the planning committee meeting in July where Seven Capital’s application to rebuild the centre, without the sports hall, will be discussed and decided: “SBC have just officially rejected our latest asset of community value application for the Oasis. It is now absolutely essential that you send your planning objections in by 8th July when the final decisions will be made.”
Councillor Kevin Small, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for finance, said: “We know the decision not to list the Oasis as an asset of community value will be unpopular, particularly with the campaigners who have fought to keep the 50-year-old leisure centre as it was.
“Unfortunately, we have been given very clear, independent legal advice from specialists in this field, which recommends that the application to nominate the Oasis does not satisfy the current or future use tests under the Localism Act and therefore cannot be listed.”
Listing a building as an ACV does not prevent its sale, use for a different purpose or even demolition. When a building, most typically a pub or shop, is made an ACV it allows a pause of up to six months to see if a community group can take it on and run it under its current use when the owner wants to sell it.