A museum's digital fossil display will not depict an example found within the county, a committee has been told.

The digital interpretation of an Ichthyosaur fossil intended for the Rutland County Museum will not represent the 10-metre-long Rutland sea dragon found at Rutland Water, Rutland County Council's scrutiny committee heard last night (August 4), but rather another Ichthyosaur fossil found elsewhere.

Work to conserve the Rutland sea dragon before digitisation would have been too expensive, according to one council officer.

"Since we haven't got the material to digitise the Rutland sea dragon, what we're now proposing to do is digitise another sea dragon." Penny Sharp said, strategic director of places at Rutland County Council.

"There will still be a digital experience where you can swim with the ichthyosaur, but it won't be the one found at Rutland Water."

The announcement marks another blow to campaigners who have pushed to see the 180-million-year old fossil represented at the museum, after plans to exhibit the fossil itself were scrapped earlier this year.

At the same meeting, the scrutiny committee heard from Cllr Andrew Johnson, deputy council leader and portfolio holder for governance and resources, who explained why the project was abandoned.

"Inflation, higher borrowing costs and supply chain disruption meant cabinet had to prioritise projects for them to remain affordable, deliverable and financially sane," Cllr Johnson said.

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Deliverability risks concerning the sea dragon exhibit were existential, the committee heard, especially in view of the upcoming local government reorganisation deadline, slated for spring 2028.

Cllr Johnson continued: "Legal agreements with Anglian Water had not been finalised after more than a year of formal negotiations, and several years of informal negotiations.

"Conservation of the sea dragon could not have started until after ownership had transferred, and we were concerned that time was getting on with no end in sight.

"Conservation would have taken 18 months, which would've taken us up to the deadline of local government reorganisation. We had an eye on that date, given the effects it might have."

The committee heard future liabilities were also a concern, specifically regarding ongoing maintenance costs, the risk of further cost escalation and the impact of the Rutland sea dragon exhibition on other projects in the museum.

"All these factors created a significant uncertainty around the Rutland sea dragon project in terms of deliverability and affordability," Coun Johnson said.

"We had to make sacrifices in certain areas, and largely because of deliverability risks, we decided the Rutland sea dragon would be one of the casualties."