Music Hall at risk of being demolished/not rebuilt. Current 2025 petition please sign: https://tinyurl.com/45xsenf5 Our website: https://www.saveoasisswindon.co.uk/
The Oasis Leisure Centre closed in November 2020, after GLL surrendered their lease of the building. Since its closure, the building has sat in an idle limbo and its future left in doubt. A vital asset for Swindon
The Oasis is a vital
ly important asset for our town. One that we cannot afford to lose. It’s so much more than a fun swimming pool. It’s served Swindon well as a music and events venue as you’ll see from the photographs and posters by Swindon artist, Ken White that you’ll see on this site. It is also famous for inspiring the britpop band Oasis, who took their name from the Centre. Further, it looms large in Swindon’s tourist offering. Surely an architecturally important and culturally significant facility like this should be integral to Swindon’s offering as a place where you’d want to live, play, work and do business? Why does the Oasis matter? There are many reasons why the Oasis matters and why we should preserve it. Those reasons range from architectural to environmental with cultural history and accessibility in the mix too. Here on Swindon Viewpoint, Born Again Swindonian (aka Angela Atkinson) speaks about that. The Oasis represents many aspects about a period in Britain when Swindon became a key player in providing overspill space for London. These new communities formed attractive prospects for families. The Oasis opened in 1976, located between the 50s/60s expansion to the east of the town and the 70s/80s expansion to the west. Its architectural significance is huge and in this article for the Architect’s Journal, architect Robert Guy explains why. Further, the 20th Century Society placed the Oasis on their 2021 buildings at risk list.
‘ … It is the last major work of architectural partnership of Gillinson Barnett and Partners (GBP), where Peter Sargent and Clifford Barnett were senior partners, the pre-eminent designers of leisure centres during this period. At Swindon a large free form pool was enclosed by a 45-metre dome (the largest of its type in Europe) composed of an aluminium frame with transparent PVC panels. The RIBA Guides to Modern Architecture described it as a ‘fantasy structure, its half-submerged dome resembling a flying-saucer.’
The Oasis is separated into a ‘wet side’, containing leisure pools and extensive waterslides, and ‘dry side’ for sports and recreation activities, the two being connected by the changing rooms, entrance hall and restaurant. In Nov 2020, it was announced the centre would not reopen after the lockdown ended, raising concerns about its future. Since then new plans were revealed by the developers SevenCapital to ‘revive’ the centre, which included demolition of the dome. Supporting the passionate efforts of the local campaign group Save Oasis Swindon (SOS), C20 moved to protect the building with a listing application.’ The grade II listing was a success in 2021, thanks to SOS research and pressure. In April 2022, our Campaign received a Pride of Swindon Award. In Sept 2022, Swindon Borough Council planned an outrageous attempt to "de-list" the Oasis. In Oct 2022, Seven Capital put in a planning application to restore the existing dome structure. This was approved in Jan 2023.
