A NEW HOME has been found for Okehampton's iconic Millennium Quilt which was removed from the Charter Hall for renovation work and never rehung, much to the anger of townspeople.

Okehampton Town Council, which decided not to rehang the quilt on the walls of the hall it had adorned for the past 13 years, was accused of 'turning its back on the history of the town'.

Seven hundred people signed a petition asking for the quilt to be put back in its place, but the council said it could not because of the hall's new ventilation system.

But this week Okehampton Community Sports Association has come to the rescue.

Its trustees have agreed that the artwork, which measures 1.8 metres high by 3.6 metres long, can take pride of place in the new sports pavilion in Simmons Park.

Christine Marsh, a member of the town council and OCRA trustee, said the quilt would be placed somewhere on the ground floor within the complex.

Cllr Marsh said:?'My view was that the quilt should be put back in the Charter Hall but that was not the council's decision.

'I am thrilled to bits that it has found a new home.

'Being one of the people who made parts for the quilt I know how much work has gone into it by all the quilters at their own expense.

'It was given as a gift to the townspeople to enjoy and thankfully it will continue to do so.'

The Millennium Quilt took 18 months to make and depicts the everyday life of the area at four times of day throughout the four seasons.

Susan Enderson from the quilting group said it was great that the quilt would now be seen by lots of young people as clearly it had been an inspiration to the youngsters from Okehampton Primary School who had recently seen it.

'I am just thankful that somebody else feels really enthusiastic about it and we are so grateful to OCRA,' she said.

'The quilt is a piece of history and we had not envisaged that it would be taken down after 13 years and put away somewhere.

'Now a new generation of people will see it.'