'Sea of plastic' cleared at former leisure centre

A small army of litter pickers say they are doing their bit to prevent a derelict leisure centre becoming a "permanent apocalypse theme park."

Once famous for its lagoon pool and popular events, the Oasis in Swindon has been closed since 2020. Developer and landlord Seven Capital wants to renovate the Oasis leisure centre and build 700 new flats nearby.

Keep Swindon Tidy say water bottles and food waste containers are routinely being littered around the former leisure centre and want more to be done to protect the site.

Seven Capital and Swindon Borough Council have been approached for comment.

Karen Leggett, a volunteer with the group, said: "It's just awful, it's a sea of plastic."

Ms Leggett said Seven Capital do collect the bags of rubbish on behalf of Keep Swindon Tidy, but she wants them to do more.

"It's terrible there, it's always a mess," Ms Leggett added.

"Seven Capital are meant to be managing the site, but they don't really. They say they have got security guards and people picking up, but we don't see them.

"The Oasis is an iconic site and people care about it. We just want to preserve it."

Last week, Keep Swindon Tidy volunteers collected 36 bags of rubbish at the Oasis.

Due to the sheer amount of drink bottles among the debris, 16 of the bags collected were able to be recycled.

Keep Swindon Tidy's are planning their next litter pick at the Oasis on October 26 and would welcome anyone from the wider community to come out and support the group.

"It can be really rewarding to see somewhere covered in mess and then, a couple hours later, see it all clean and tidy," said Ms Leggett.

"We're making a positive difference in Swindon and hopefully are getting the word out that it's not right to throw your rubbish onto the ground."

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