A CROSS-PARTY effort to get the Oasis Leisure Centre reopened is under way.

Swindon Borough Council leader David Renard has set up a taskforce – known as a Cabinet Member Advisory Group – after news the iconic facility in North Star is to close after 44 years.

He will chair a group featuring four of his Conservative colleagues and three Labour councillors, who will look at the options for bringing the Oasis back to life.

While the council owns the land and building, Seven Capital has a 99-year lease and had specialist leisure operator GLL – trading as Better – running it.

In November GLL said it could no longer make a profit on running the centre and announced it would not reopen after the second lockdown of the year.

Coun Renard said: “The Conservative administration believes the Oasis does have a long-term sustainable future, and that it remains the responsibility of Seven Capital as landlord to find a new operator to replace GLL.”

Cabinet members Dale Heenan and Gary Sumner and councillors Roger Smith and Vinay Manro are the other Tories in the group.

Coun Heenan said: “Nearly two thirds of leisure centres across the UK need urgent investment. These facilities are vital to local communities as they contribute to physical and mental wellbeing – support that is needed more now than ever before.

“Couns Gary Sumner, Vinay Manro, Roger Smith and I accepted Coun Renard’s invitation to sit on this task group and we will work hard to see how a significant refurbishment can be supported.

“We weren’t involved in the original decision to outsource Oasis to Seven Capital and we will constructively challenge the company about its future plans, and hopefully find a way forward that doesn't involve taxpayer money being used to create a new Oasis that Swindon can be proud to have as a leisure centre."

Coun Manro said: “I am thankful for the invitation to join the Oasis taskforce. I understand the commercial pressures on the leisure industry, but equally understand feelings about the loss of a leisure facility. I will ensure all options are given due consideration to see if the Oasis can be refurbished or transformed and given a new lease of life for all of Swindon."

Labour group leader Jim Grant will sit on the group along with his spokesman on economic development Junab Ali and fellow Rodbourne Cheney councillor Peter Watts.

He said: “It’s good thing this has been set up as cross-party group. It’s vital that it isn’t just a talking shop. It must put firm targets in place to make sure the Oasis is reopened as soon as possible.”

Coun Grant said the Labour group’s position on Oasis was to “encourage the current owners – Seven Capital – to provide a leisure centre on the site".

He added: "If they are not willing or able to so this we will seek to cancel any other contracts the council has with them and take the Oasis back into public ownership.

“We will then seek to find a provider to re-open the Oasis as soon as possible. In the interim we will need to find out what the cost of such actions are and balance the expenditure against what else we might want to do as an incoming Labour council.”

Coun Grant said Labour actively supports the Co-operative party’s campaign to get the centre designated as an Asset of Community Value.