CAMPAIGNERS have called for the reopening of a rural life museum which could soon become the site of a drug rehabilitation centre.

Museum trustees decided to vacate its premises in the grounds of Minster Abbey in Thanet earlier this year after it was feared that under the existing lease two trustees could be personally liable for the repair costs to the main barn roof - in excess of £50,000.

The call came at a packed public meeting in the village hall at the weekend when an action group was formed to fight the Pathways House scheme.

Plans for a village referendum have been put on hold by the parish council to see if it can reduce the initial costs of around £3,000.

Villager Ben Whelan proposed that the museum be reinstated. He said: “It has £40,000 in its coffers which it will have to give away under charity law to a similar museum in another town. They will have to do that when the lease runs out on September 30.”

The extra money, not present when the museum closed, comes from bequests.

Among villagers’ concerns is that to invest the sums of money needed in the centre, a very long lease would be required on the land.

If the business plan, which has not been seen by anyone in the village or South Thanet MP Dr Stephen Ladyman, were then to prove over-optimistic it could leave the Abbey with a liability for a long period.

Dr Ladyman said: “The village meeting was very passionate and feelings are strong. I am writing to the Sisters to set out what people feel and the issues the nuns are going to have to address.

“We need this type of facility. I can’t go somewhere else in my constituency and say the only reason you are having it in your neighbourhood is because Minster didn’t want it.”

An action group of 10 people was formed to fight the proposal and unite the various factions under one banner. A vote at the end of the meeting revealed that almost all those at the meeting were against the centre.