Swindon Borough Council announced a new partnership yesterday that will see North Star and the Oasis Leisure Centre become a leisure destination for millions from around the South and South West with the building of a ‘Real Snow’ ski slope.
Linking up with Seven Capital in a £270m project that will see Swindon home to the leisure facilities promised years ago by the now dumped Morai, the media briefing at the Civic Offices yesterday had an optimistic feel about it.
These are the guys that are going to make this happen!
When asked why this time round it is different, Councillor Gary Perkins answered ‘Seven Capital are a company led project team whereas Morai was a project led company.’
‘Seven have the money in place to deliver the project.’
Seven Capital, an experienced development group who hold no bones about the fact that they will build a new centre for Swindon, however whether they are actually the owners and will be running it on opening day depends on the deals that can be done.
Honesty at last.
This is a company willing to spend £270m of its own investment money on a project Swindonian’s have been promised in the past, why shouldn’t they be able to look to make a profit?
Having built and delivered numerous multi-million pound projects throughout the world from leisure to housing, office to retail, it really seems as though the Borough Council have done their homework.
They have the investment funds in place and are ready to go.
In fact contractors were on site at the leisure centre only yesterday looking at remedial works that need to be completed as a matter of urgency.
The immediate plans are to resurface the car park, something which has been needed for a while. Utilising the space in the Oasis as currently there is unused space and then to make the skate park safe and functional.
Within six to nine months we will then start to see images of what the development will look like, all old plans and imagery have been scrapped and the project will be starting from scratch.
It is then over to the council planning department to approve the planning application before the builders can move onto site.
The new leisure facilities, including a ‘Real Snow’ ski slope, will be open in just three years time.
Yes that is a long time, remember Regent Circus took half that but is also just a tenth in size of the North Star project at 1,000,000sq ft.
Did I mention we are getting a ‘Real Snow’ ski slope? Well rumours going around that Bristol will beat us to the completion of their ski slope meaning ours will not happen can be no further from the truth.
Our friends from doe M4 will be getting themselves a ski simulator, or carpet. The project in Swindon is for two ‘Real Snow’ (provided by cannons) ski slopes.
As a town let us try and gain some positivity about this project, a company with no ties to the town is willing to come in and spend £270m of their investors money to give Swindon a leisure destination that other towns will only dream of.
Yes they are looking to make a profit out of it, not from mine or your council tax, from the company that will eventually buy the finished project, and why shouldn’t they.
