Protest being held this weekend to save Walsall Leather Museum with shutdown just weeks away
A protest to save the Walsall Leather Museum is set to go ahead this weekend – just weeks before the doors are set to close to the public.
Lead campaigner Lauren Broxton has called on the community to meet at 1pm this Saturday (March 28) at the Sister Dora statue in Walsall town centre.
The leather fashion designer said industry figures are travelling from around the country to Walsall to support the protest.
The campaigners are calling for an immediate pause to the plans, which Ms Broxton said are currently being pushed through "at an alarming rate".
She said: “We are less than three weeks away from losing the Leather Museum – one of the last true bastions of our definitive and historic leather industry.
“After 15 months of tireless campaigning, overwhelming outcry from community, industry and academia, media scrutiny locally, nationally and globally, the decision is still being pushed through at an alarming rate.
“Despite campaigners’ attempts to engage through the usual democratic processes, and thoroughly evidencing the flaws in arguments holding up questionable decision-making, we have been shut down and told to shut up.
“Questions around breach of policy and protocol, and meaningful community consultation and engagement, still remain unanswered.
“This is no longer merely a heritage crisis – it speaks to the wider democratic crisis that has plagued Walsall for decades.”
Walsall Council's cabinet approved plans to relocate the Leather Museum on Littleton Street West to a vacant property at 1-3 The Bridge in the town centre.
Leader of the council, Councillor Mike Bird, said the "majority of the ground floor will be leather" and the upper floors will be for "children and children’s services".
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the cost of the new building was £725,000.
The figure was confirmed the same week Historic England listed the current Leather Museum building as Grade II, describing it as "illustrating Walsall’s leather industry at its height".
Walsall Council has earmarked the historic building for Walsall College’s SEND offering, currently at Hawbush Road.
The plans have faced huge backlash from residents, councillors and local MP Valerie Vaz.
Lauren added: “We see the strength of feeling around this online, in community groups and within the public realm.
“We now call upon our communities to stand shoulder to shoulder with us one last time to make our voices heard and call for a stop to plans that are devastating and damaging to our communities.
“This does not have to happen. At the very least, these plans should be paused until the public has full clarity about the future of the museum.
“We would love to see as many people as possible come along – even if it’s just for an hour.”
Walsall Council has been approached for comment.
