Hammers can be taken to the walls of the protected pool and dome areas of the Oasis Centre to test their strength and solidity.

The de facto owners of the closed leisure centre, Seven Capital, has been permitted to test the structures for integrity.

That will include visual inspections of 10 bays on the dome's supporting structure located on its first and ground floors.

This will be followed by hitting the surface with hammers to see whether the reinforced concrete is still in a good, and safe, condition.

Seven Capital’s application to carry out the work said: “Areas of delamination or spalling are considered to no longer be contributing to the performance of the concrete structure. It is necessary to identify the extent of such deterioration to fully develop the scope of the intrusive testing.

“Hammer testing to good quality/sound concrete is considered non-destructive with minor impacts to the surface not causing any damage.

“If surface damage is caused as a result of hammer testing, this is a result of the concrete having deteriorated and is an intended, necessary, result of the procedure to allow inspection of the defects present.

The dome and pool area of the building, constructed in 1975 is listed, and special permission is needed for the work.

Neither Central Swindon North Parish Council nor the authority’s conservation officer objected to the work.

And in approving the proposal council planning officers wrote: “Whilst there will be some inevitable level of physical harm to the fabric of the building as a result of the intrusive testing, we are appreciative of the aim of the proposed works - initial investigative works that will feed into the wider aim of the repair and refurbishment of the building.

“Subject to the agreement of details it is concluded that the works will preserve the special interest and significance of the listed building in accord with both national and local policy.

“The works will assist with overall longer-term aims of renovating the building and bringing it back into use. This is a public benefit.”

Seven Capital was awarded a 99-year lease on the buildings and site about 10 years ago. Until 2020 the leisure centre was operated by GLL, trading as Better,

The centre has been closed since October 2020, when the UK went into its second Covid lockdown, when Better said it was impossible to make enough of a profit.

A planning application to rebuild the centre, keeping the listed dome and pool is expected soon, with both the council and Seven Capital saying a re-opening date by the end of 2026 is feasible.

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