Swindon's Labour Group have called for an investigation into the lease deal for the Oasis Leisure Centre, and a pause to the planned 99 year lease of the Council's other Leisure facilities as the full picture about the Oasis has started to unravel and the number of Swindon businesses out-of-pocket to the failed developers rises.
Swindon's Labour Group have called for an investigation into the lease deal for the Oasis Leisure Centre, and a pause to the planned 99 year lease of the Council's other Leisure facilities as the full picture about the Oasis has started to unravel and the number of Swindon businesses out-of-pocket to the failed developers rises.
The Oasis deal, designed to lead to a new snow dome, concert venue, hotel and cinema, has been struggling to attract funding for some time and has missed various targets for work to be started. The bankruptcy of one of the Oasis shell companies has led to the amount of local businesses affected by the deal becoming apparent. 62 companies have been left being owed money by MW Contract Services Ltd, which was formerly called Oasis Operations Ltd. The full amount owed by the company was £864,585.05, with about a quarter of the companies owed money being based in Swindon.
The Labour Spokesperson for Leisure, Libraries and Culture, Cllr. Jim Robbins, said:
“We were initially notified of this by a local businessperson who is owed money by Morai’s shell company. They were very unhappy that a company who is in partnership with Swindon Council would proceed to not pay its contractors for work and services provided to their asset.
We are still trying to fully understand the complex web of companies that the Morai group set up to work at the Oasis. The companies, mostly with the same directors and run from the same address, seem to owe each other money, some aren't trading and none seem to have any concrete assets. What I can say is that MW Contract Services Ltd company went bust owing thousands to local companies, and it certainly does not inspire confidence in the Morai group to deliver on the plans that they have for the Oasis. We want to determine if the Council was thorough in the due diligence it carried out to ensure that Morai were a reputable partner.
If this type of practice is what the Council have in mind for their proposed lease of the other Leisure facilities in the town, we have huge concerns over the plans. I want to today call on the Council Leader to open a full investigation into the situation at the Oasis, and report back to the Council on whether the Morai group are solvent, competent and can deliver on the promises that they made. Do they have any investors in place to fund the planned work at the Oasis? And will they be paying back those companies their shell company owes money to?
I'd also like to see the proposed Leisure Lease due to go to Cabinet later this month postponed until the investigation is completed and the full lessons of the Oasis Lease can be learnt.”
The proposed Leisure Lease has already proved to be controversial in the town with over 1600 residents calling for the Croft Fields to be taken out of the plans, and concerns raised over the length of the lease and the option for the new owners to apply for change of use on the venues after just three years.
Cllr Jim Robbins
Swindon Labour Group Shadow Lead for Leisure