'Save our Leather Museum!': Protesters take to Walsall town centre with call to axe plans to move 'top visited' attraction

More than 30 people took to the streets of Walsall town centre today (Saturday) to oppose council plans to move the historic attraction from its original location on Littleton Street West.

The move sparked controversy when the council announced the plans to move the leather museum in their budget for the 2025/26 period.

Following a call for action by protest organiser, Lauren Broxton, more than 30 people marched through Walsall town centre this afternoon to call for a change to the plans. 

The march started at the Sister Dora statue in the town centre and ended on the doorstep of Walsall Leather Museum, via Park Street and Wisemore.

Lauren, a visiting lecturer and fashion designer at Birmingham City University, said: "Today is all about the residents. 

"We want to hear from the community and share their voice about what the leather museum means to them. 

"We are conducting this march through the town centre to raise awareness for what the leather museum means."

'This building is part of our heritage'

Labour MP for Walsall and Bloxwich, Valerie Vaz, also joined the march to show her support to save the heritage of the leather museum at its current location. 

Talking about what the leather museum means to her, she said: "This is part of the heritage of Walsall. 

"I speak to constituents who had taken their children there, it is one of the top visited locations on Tripadvisor, and it's a beautiful building, this building is part of our heritage. 

"When you look back, there are generations on generations of people who have visited and had a wonderful time and understanding how important the leather museum is and the leather industry to Walsall.

"Leather is an important crucial part of the heritage of Walsall and we need to preserve that."

Residents were outraged at the plans when they were first announced, with many thinking the museum would close permanently, however, Walsall Council leader Councillor Garry Perry offered reassurances that the leather museum would be 'moving, not closing'.

What might be lost?

Talking about a potential move in location, Ms Vaz said: "The break-up of the whole collection will be a huge loss, at the moment it is in a spot that everyone can see and it is very accessible, if it moves way down into the town centre, it may be lost.

"The fact is, we need to keep the collection as it is, we need to keep this historic building as it is, rather than break it up, which is what we fear will happen.

"Hopefully this message will go to the councillors and they will decide that this is just a small part of the budget, and they will instead choose to support it and preserve it."