Rutland County Council’s Cabinet has decided that the Rutland Sea Dragon will not come home to Rutland, and have voted to abandon negotiations with Anglian Water to acquire the Rutland Sea Dragon for display at our museum in Oakham.
The ichthyosaur is a once-in-a-generation find of national importance with the potential to become a major educational, cultural and tourism asset for our county for decades to come. It belongs here, in Rutland.
Cabinet papers from Rutland County Council report the Council can no longer afford the project, but the financials have not been fully disclosed and the conclusion rests on a Bank of England report published on 30th April, just two working days before a 250 page report was published concluding the project could not go ahead. There are also no financial assessments of the benefits to our County of bringing the Sea Dragon home, and what that would mean for the commercial future of our county museum. We believe it could be as little as £300,000 that is needed but we need Rutland Council to be transparent on the costs which were not clear from the Cabinet meeting. We already have Government funds of £2 million to revamp the museum secured in 2023.
If you believe, like the Friends of Rutland County Museum and Oakham Castle and me, that the Rutland Sea Dragon should come home, we are asking you to sign this petition urging the Council to reverse its decision.
If 1,500 Rutland residents sign, the Council will be required to hold a full debate.
Please do encourage your friends, family and neighbours to sign this petition calling on the Council to bring our Sea Dragon home. Alternatively, we can post copies to anyone who prefers to sign by hand.
The wording of the petition is:
We urge Rutland County Council to use existing council funds plus any grants or donations to acquire the Ichthyosaur fossil ('the Sea Dragon') found in Rutland Water by 30th September 2026. We also urge the Council to make sure that the fossil can then be displayed at the Rutland County Museum. We further request that this petition be debated at a meeting of the full Council.
(Photo: Anglian Water)