Oasis leisure centre sports hall petition debated by council

A petition containing that many signatures - backed by more than a few Conservative councillors - was presented to Swindon Borough Council at its full meeting on Thursday.

Speaking to the assembled members, Mike Buss said: “We appreciate that the possibility of a sports hall is being discussed.

More than 1700 residents have signed this petition and there are more on social media platforms.

“The Oasis used to draw hundreds of thousands of customers a year not just from Swindon but nationwide. It was a complete leisure and entertainment centre complex.

“Please do not consign half of that to the local history books.”

Mr Buss pointed out that the borough council’s own Local Plan designates the whole of the North Star site for leisure use and that Sports England has objected to the loss of the sports hall in any refurbished oasis.

He added: “People want an Oasis in the same form as it was, not in some misty-eyed nostalgia but because the people need these facilities.

“The Oasis was Swindon’s biggest indoor sports hall, and it’s depressing to suddenly realise we are fighting now for piecemeal facilities.

“If there is no sports hall people will forever say half of the Oasis is missing.

“This is your chance to put the residents first and take responsibility and deliver on your promises and pressure Seven Capital to provide a sports hall, now is the chance to do that before the loss is irreversible.”

This position was supported by several Conservative councillors, including Matty Courtliff - the cabinet member responsible for leisure until May 2023.

He said: “You say there is no other option but to work with SevenCapital – but there is. In March 2023 the matter was brought to cabinet by officers and I said SevenCapital have had long enough. They exist just to make a profit and development must also serve the community.”

Cllr Courtliff said he had wanted, and the administration was still able, to use a section 146 notice whereby a tenant or leaseholder seen to be in breach of agreements could have the land removed from them.

But the cabinet member for finance councillor Kevin Small said this was impractical.

He said: "If we took the site back a refurbished Oasis would cost between £20 and 30 million.

“Where would this council get that money? The sale of land for housing would only come afterwards, and we’d have to find £2m in the revenue budget for the initial loan.”

Council leader Jim Robbins expressed regret that a previous Conservative administration had given SevenCapital a 99-year-lease on the site.

But he said: “Working with SevenCapital is the best and quickest way to have an Oasis centre re-opened and that’s what we are doing now.”

The council voted to note the petition and to pass it on to SevenCapital.

A long lease for the Oasis site was given to SevenCapital about 10 years ago after a deal between the council and another private company Morai failed.

SevenCapital contracted GLL, which trades as Better, to run the centre, After it briefly re-opened between lockdowns in 2020, Better said, when it closed in the late autumn lockdown, that it would not re-open because it was impossible to make enough money.

The company cited the building fabric, particularly the dome over the poll as  costing too much to heat.

Since then the Oasis has been shut. The dome and pool area were listed in early 2022.