Swindon's Oasis Centre could be sold for £6m, under new proposals
The council's cabinet will meet to discuss the proposal at 6pm on Wednesday, November 13
The Oasis leisure centre which has been closed for nearly three years could be sold by Swindon Borough Council for £6m.
And the much-delayed snow centre on the site across the road from the leisure centre will not go ahead.
But, according to plans to be considered by Swindon Borough Council next week, the Oasis site will only be sold to developer Seven Capital, which already has a long lease on the site, once it has been refurbished.
The report to cabinet says: “The listing of the Oasis Leisure Centre has significantly increased the cost of bringing the building back into use.
“Customer numbers for all leisure centres are struggling to return to 2019 levels due to the ongoing legacy of Covid 19.
“Energy costs have increased dramatically and this particularly affects leisure centres with swimming pools which require large amounts of energy to heat them.
“Also, the domed roof at the Oasis Leisure Centre is very inefficient in terms of energy performance which further impacts on energy costs.”
The proposal which the members of the administration will consider is to: “Approve the disposal of the Oasis and North Star sites for a minimum value of £6 million subject to satisfactory planning approval being obtained by Seven Capital, the entering into a building contract, the completion of the refurbishment works to the Oasis Centre, and the tenant being secured to operate the Leisure centre.”
The sale of the North Star site to Seven Capital will allow the company, which is better known for building flats and houses than owning or running leisure centres, to build houses.
But the proposal that will be considered makes it plain that those houses must not be built before the refurbished Oasis centre is ready to open.
The report says: “This approach can provide the opportunity for Seven Capital to refurbish the Oasis.
“Seven Capital recognises that for the council to be able to consider the sale of the Oasis and North Star sites, any sale would only be on the basis that it would follow the completion of works to refurbish the Oasis.
“No residential development would be carried out until the sites are sold, which would only take place once the Oasis is refurbished.
“This would also be a requirement of any planning consent that would be granted for any development on the sites.
“In addition, to ensure the building is brought back into use once refurbished, SC would identify a suitable tenant to operate the leisure centre who would sign up to a lease commencing on completion of the refurbishment works.”
The much-touted £270m snow centre which was given planning permission in 2018 will not now go ahead.
The death knell of the project comes in one sentence: “The weakened leisure sector means that a leisure destination is unviable on the North Star site.”
The cabinet will meet to discuss the proposal at 6pm on Wednesday, November 13.
While a debate and vote will be needed, it would be very unusual for members of the cabinet to reject the proposals which will be made by the member for finance Councillor Kevin Small.