We all were surprised to hear that Swindon’s much beloved Oasis leisure centre had fallen into a state of disarray and that Swindon Borough Council had plans for it to be replaced by something else.

However, after the initial shock we all began to question what this new development was going to bring to Swindon, whether or not people would really want to use it and would it provide something to do for the masses of young people in Swindon?

The Oasis has been at the heart of Swindon’s North Star district for many years and many would argue that it helps make Swindon what it is today.

The Oasis’s colourful appeal has attracted many great performers to its hallowed halls such as NDubz, Diversity, The Saturdays and many more.

The main hall has also been used to host events for football, netball, hockey and basketball as well as the swimming pool and crèche bringing in children by the bus load.

Despite fierce competition from other leisure facilities such as The Link centre and The Delta Tennis centre, the Oasis is still the main hub of leisure activity in Swindon. So why was it allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair? Some would say that the Oasis has been going downhill for a long time now and that everyone was already aware that its closure or redevelopment was imminent.

The council have confirmed that up to 9.5 hectares of land on the Oasis site is to be sold and that it will be down to the new developers to decide whether or not to refurbish the site or to build something new entirely. One of the ideas from the proposed redevelopers of the Oasis is none other than a state of the art ski-dome.

But will that have the same appeal and attractiveness of our beloved Oasis and will the loss of a concert venue mean we have to kiss opportunities of attracting great performers goodbye?

I interviewed 32 people at my secondary school and nearly 80 per cent said they still use the Oasis to swim whenever they can.

I also asked whether they thought a ski dome would be a good development for Swindon and whether or not they would use it regularly. Just over 70 per cent said they thought a ski-dome would be a good idea and just under 60 per cent answered that they would use it regularly providing the prices were reasonable.

Others said they would not be willing to see the Oasis replaced. Others were keen to see a roller-skating rink and even a theme park.

The overall outcome of the research I did is that the younger population of Swindon think a ski-dome is a good idea and they would use it regularly but they believe that if the Oasis is to be a ski-dome there must be an actual schedule and plan beforehand so the place actually gets built.

No one wants to see a case where the Oasis is closed with no signs of anything happening to it.

Swindon Advertiser: Blob By James Lentschner, 14, Bradon Forest School