The Oakham artwork designed to bring more business to Mill Street
The Sea Dragon was painted by world-famous street artist Julian Beever
Last updated 15th May 2022
Rutland's got a new Sea Dragon on display, but it's not the historic fossil found down at Rutland Water - for now, at least.
This one's a brilliant bit of street art that was completed by world-renowned artist Julian Beever on Saturday (14th May).
It's officially open to the public today, but intrigued residents have been coming down all week to watch Julian at work.
A bright new tourism future for Rutland?
The piece was actually commissioned by a collective of business owners on Mill Street in Oakham, named the Mill Street Traders Association, in a bid to boost visitors to the specific spot in the town.
Heidi Kjeldsen, who runs a nearby jewellery store, was one of those who bought into the project:
'We were being neglected, there was no money basically for the council to spend on promoting shops and the town centre really and it was very much a sink or swim. Shops were closing, units were empty', she said.
'Shop-keepers decided to get together as a group and each contribute a small amount to one pot that we could then do something special with, and actually make a difference and bring people into the street and highlight Mill Street, rather than just have a dying shopping centre.'
Rutland and Melton's MP Alicia Kearns says the painting was the latest addition to a wider project around developing tourism in the county:
'The agreement is that it (Ichthyosaur) will come back to Rutland, that was something that I, Rutland County Council and Anglian Water were determined to make sure happened,' she said.
'It needs about a year for it to be stabilised but I am doing everything I can to make sure it comes back. And I want to get the other Ichthyosaur from Leicester Museum back to Rutland as well.'
'I've managed to get ÂŁ90,000 from the Government to look at how build a new tourism industry in Rutland, because with roman mosaics and ichthyosaurs around us, we have got such a bright future', she added.