Swindon Oasis: £8m bid to government to restore

Built in 1976, the Oasis leisure centre was a local landmark for its domed design

A council has bid for £8m from a government levelling up fund to help get a leisure centre back into use.

The leader of Swindon Borough Council, councillor David Renard, has said he wants the owners of the Oasis leisure centre to match the bid.

Severn Capital has a 99 year-lease on the town centre site which shut in 2020.

Mr Renard could not promise even £16m would help bring forward a plan to refurbish the centre.

Severn Capital put forward a proposal for a new centre on the site last year, but that has been withdrawn since the original 1976 building became Grade-II listed.

They had planned to knock down the structure and replace it, keeping the pool and slides.

Mr Renard said: "We have the backing of the towns' MPs for our bid for £8m from the Whitehall Levelling Up fund.

"All funds granted have to be backed, and whatever we get will be matched by Seven Capital."

The Oasis houses a pool, gym and a multi-purpose sports hall

Since the building became listed the council has said the costs of getting the building back open have doubled.

"It's not going to be easy, we are working with Seven Capital to try and ensure that they can move forward with proposals to get the centre in use again," added Mr Renard.

In a council meeting, Mr Robbins asked him if he was "embarrassed" at asking government for cash to get both the Oasis centre open and another bid from the same fund for refurbishment and restoration of the Health Hydro in the Railway Village.

Mr Robbins said: "This isn't levelling up, this isn't improving anything- this is just trying to get back to where we were. This is just trying to sort of problems of this council's own making."