A revamped Oasis leisure centre will be subject to a ‘stay-open’ clause in the deal between Swindon Borough Council and the site's owners SevenCapital, councillors were told.

And the famous Domebusters slides that have entertained families for decades are also set to stay once the venue reopens - potentially some time in 2026.

The agreement of the overview and scrutiny committee – necessary for the deal to be able to move ahead – was secured after a three-hour-long discussion of the deal, It saw members of the public and the committee quiz council leader Jim Robins and cabinet member for finance and strategic planning councillor Kevin Small.

Shortly after the council had announced that when the Oasis is reopened it would feature a wave machine – just days after the boss of SevenCapital Damien Siviter hold told campaigners it was too expensive - Cllr Robbins also told the packed committee room that the Domebusters slides would also be used. There are discussions about the reinstatement of the water cannon, but that particular feature cannot yet be guaranteed.

Cllr Robbins jokingly told the committee: “My daughter and (South Swindon MP) Robert Buckland’s daughter have negotiated to be the first people to use them when they re-open – that’s the part of the agreement they care about.”

Cllr Small faced detailed questioning on the deal and said: “The council will have first refusal to buy back the centre once it has been reopened.

“And there is a ‘stay open’ clause in the deal which runs for the 12-year agreement to prevent the operator just closing it. There was no such clause in the original lease to SevenCapital made by the previous (Conservative) administration.”

Leader of the Conservative group Councillor Gary Sumner asked whether that would apply to the council itself if it bought back the Oasis: “If the council is running it, does the stay-open clause commit the council to keeping the centre open even if it's running at a loss?”

Cllr Small said the clause was in the deal because it is an agreement with the private sector.

Another significant revelation was Cllr Small’s correction towards the end of the meeting where he told the committee that the deal also depended on the company, best known as a house builder, receiving outline planning permission for housing on both the Oasis site and the former Clares factory site - known as North Star - across the road.

He had previously told the meeting, when pressed by Cllr Sumner, that the deal was only contingent on planning on the Oasis site.

After two hours the committee went into a private session. Discussions were obviously centred around the confidential papers attached to the main proposal report and particularly the summary of legal advice to the council.

As previously reported by the Adver, the summary said the council’s lawyers had said the agreement may be unlawful as it significantly changes existing agreements without a new tendering process.

It added that any challenge to the deal in the courts had a medium to high chance of success.

It is understood the Labour administration decided to continue with the deal believing a challenge was unlikely because no other company or body had expressed any interest in refurbishing the Oasis.

After reopening the session, a Conservative motion to ask the cabinet to reconsider its decision was defeated, a motion by a Labour member to ‘note’ the decision – in effect endorsing it – was passed, with the three Conservative members voting against.

Cllr Small had told the committee that it was the intention to open the centre again in 2026, although it seems likely the previous date of January 1, 2026, the 50th anniversary of opening, will be missed.

SevenCapital now has three years to get planning approval and get the necessary work done to meet that hoped-for deadline.