Why there will be no progress on The Oasis

Planning meeting 8th July 2025

This is a summary of decisions made and the implications discussed at Swindon Borough Council Planning Committee on 8th July 2025.

The Planning Committee has made several key decisions affecting the future of the Oasis Leisure Centre and surrounding North Star area. Below is a summary of each application and its outcome.

➡️ Item 6 – Oasis Leisure Centre Redevelopment (S/24/1431)

✅ Approved

• Demolition of the dry side and removal of the existing sports hall

• Proposed additions include a new gym, café, reception area, bowling alley, mini-golf, and external water slides

• An extra floor added to the link building

• Two new multi-use games areas and updated parking provision

• Sport England submitted a formal objection due to the loss of the sports hall, highlighting its importance to Swindon’s indoor sports provision

• The Council concluded that the sports hall is not currently in use and therefore not included in the borough’s sports modelling data

• The applicant, Seven Capital, stated that a new sports hall is not commercially viable within the proposed scheme

➡️ Item 7 – Listed Building Works to Oasis Dome (S/LBC/25/0182)

✅ Approved

• Refurbishment of the Grade II listed dome

• Removal of internal features including outdated slides and diving pool

• Introduction of a revised pool layout and aqua play areas

• Re-covering of the dome using modern ETFE material designed to reflect the original curved structure

• Retention of key original features including the lagoon pool, splash wall, and lifeguard post

• I am glad a solution has been found to re-cover the dome with materials that respect and retain the original design

➡️ Item 8 – Employment Use and Data Centres (S/OUT/24/1427)

✅ Approved

• Outline permission for up to 77,855 square metres of employment space, including data centres and warehousing

• Buildings permitted up to a height of 24 metres

• The site is located on the former Claire’s Accessories factory land

• Earlier versions of local plans identified this land for housing with no commercial use proposed

• This approval introduces large-scale employment use into the area and can now move forward to detailed design

➡️ Item 9 – Residential Development (S/OUT/24/1426)

❌ Rejected

• Outline application for up to 707 flats, with 240 parking spaces

• The proposal included ground floor commercial or community space and a central plaza

• Concerns raised included development density, insufficient parking, and pressure on local infrastructure

• Previous development plans proposed lower density housing on the former Claire’s site, not on land next to the Oasis

➡️ Next steps

These four applications are closely connected as part of the wider regeneration of the site. Each application must be assessed on its own planning merits, but the outcome of one can affect the delivery of others.

In my view, the applications were considered in the wrong order. The residential development was expected to help fund the refurbishment of the Oasis. That proposal has been refused.

Meanwhile, the employment use application has been approved and can proceed. However, the data centre and warehouse development is unlikely to bring the level of funding needed to restore the Oasis on its own.

As it stands, the commercial development may go ahead while the Oasis remains closed.

I will be closely monitoring progress, will follow Swindon Borough Council plans, Save Oasis, Sports England and Swindon & Wiltshire Canal Trust comments.