Petition against plans that would stop canal restoration

Published: Thursday, 16 January 2025

MORE THAN  2,000 people have signed a petition against proposed plans for a refurbished Oasis Centre in Swindon that would prevent canal restoration,

The petition is the result of plans for the redevelopment of the Oasis Centre that would stop Wilts & Berks Canal Trust’s hopes to bring the canal back to Swindon’s Wharf Green, Janet Friend reports.

SwindonOasisHopes of restoration

The canal trust state that any hopes of restoring Wharf Green Basin requires a route from the town centre then out towards Cricklade to be preserved, but current restoration plans for the Oasis Centre cover 10 metres of its route.

It was in December that owners of the Oasis Centre, Seven Capital, and the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust told the matter was being discussed and the trust expressed 'cautious optimism'.

But the canal trust has launched its petition to protest current plans for the Oasis Centre, and by 13th January it has 2,030 signatures and counting.

All it requires is the boundary of the development site to be moved by no more than 10 metres, that will allow the canal restoration to go ahead.

Ignored

But Seven Capital, the developer, has ignored this adjustment, despite meeting with the trust and having had years to consider the canal’s importance to Swindon’s future, claimed a Wilts & Berks Canal Trust’s spokesman.

The centre has been closed since 2020 and three separate planning applications have been submitted for its refurbishment, but because of public interest the deadline for comments to be made has now been extended.