New roof for Fairlynch Museum thanks to funding from airport sale.

Fairlynch Museum, one of the few thatched museums in the country, is to get a new roof thanks to a grant of £12,000 by Devon County Council from funds allocated from the sale of Exeter International Airport.

The Grade II listed building is owned and occupied by the Budleigh Salterton Arts Centre and Museum and houses an extensive collection of material of local interest including quantities of Honiton lace most of which was made in the cottage industry of East Devon and items relating to the Jurassic Coast.

This year the museum will host an exhibition of dresses designed by the internationally famous designer Zandra Rhodes and 'Curious Curves', an exhibition of underpinnings on loan from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.

The museum is built of cob and thatch and a new roof is needed to protect the local archives. Recent heavy rainfall has caused damage. The total cost of the re-thatching is £30,000 and it is to be carried out by a local master thatcher.

The bid for money from the County Council's Invest in Devon Green Fund was supported by Budleigh Salterton County Councillor Christine Channon. Devon County Council had previously sold Exeter International Airport for £60 million, and after first paying £12 million to cover existing borrowing against their previous investment in the airport, the Council had £48 million available for local projects. The money available was divided in funds - all targeting areas of improvement.

Councillor Channon said: "I am very pleased that money from the sale of the airport is being given to help the Trustees of the Fairlynch Museum repair the roof. The museum is a little gem in East Devon and it is most important that it is preserved. "

The Chairman of Budleigh Salterton Arts Centre and Museum, Sonia Stone, said: We can't thank the County Council or Christine Channon enough. Without the grant from DCC the thatching would have been put on hold to the detriment of Fairlynch. Now this beautiful building will be protected from rain, wind and snow for the benefit of both the local community and visitors to Fairlynch."