The skate park at the closed Oasis Leisure Centre is to be relocated to a new location.

Plans made by Swindon Borough Council and Central Swindon North Parish Council show that the outdoor facility, which has been unmanaged and unmaintained since the leisure centre's closure will be brought back into official use. 

Councillor Will Stone first tabled a proposal to move the skate park from the Oasis site to a site more fitting back in March last year, and in December the parish council agreed to move forward with plans to make Penhill Bowls Club the park's new location. 

In a leisure and recreation committee meeting on December 7, the parish confirmed it has successfully applied for a £165,000 Youth Investment Fund (YIF) which it wanted to use on the club and the new skate park.

The proposal includes plans for a cafe and shop which will sell skateboard-related products to open at specific times run by volunteers, along with a youth room.

The committee resolved to accept the offer from the Youth Investment Fund and propose the relocation of the Oasis skatepark to the Penhill Bowls Club. 

The plans were then approved at the full council meeting on December 20. 

Leaseholders for the Oasis, SevenCapital, technically own the skate park as part of the overall site for the facility, but earlier this year they agreed to gift it to the parish council. 

Between July and November of last year, the parish council conducted several studies and looked at many potential locations for the skate park, including Mannington Rec, Tree Courts by Medlar Way, Moredon Sporting Hub, Hillary Close and Ferndale Rec. 

As well as concerns over noise and anti-social behaviour, the main sticking point seemed to be the requirement for hard standing to be laid to support the skate park, something that the parish council did not have the required £30,000 estimated to do. 

SevenCapital confirmed that although it was willing to refurbish the equipment, giving it a lifespan of 10-15 years with adequate maintenance, it was not willing to pay for the hardstanding. 

This is where the £165,000 grant from the Youth Investment Fund came in. 

If granted, it could only be used to refurbish or restore an existing building for youth provisions alongside an operational business model. 

As a result, the parish proposed using the grant for a 'sustainable skate and cafe offering' at the Bowls Club within Penhill Park - which was accepted by the YIF and what led to this location being chosen. 

The Youth Investment Fund (YIF) is over £300m of capital and revenue grants, funded by the UK Government.