Save Our Leather Museum — Our Heritage, Our Voice, Our Right to Be Heard!

The Walsall Leather Museum isn’t just a building — it’s an 1800s former leather factory hosting the heart of our town’s heritage, and the pride of our community. 

It holds stories, memories, and the history of a global trade that made Walsall famous. But now, the council is steamrolling ahead with their plan to relocate and likely close our museum, leasing the building to Walsall College for 125 years at a peppercorn rent— silently stripping away a cherished historical community asset that belongs to all of us.

This decision is being made behind closed doors, with no meaningful public consultation and no transparency about how or when these choices were or are made. 

They have no formal plans to provide an alternative building or protect the museum’s historic collections. 

That’s not democracy — that’s dismissal. We, the community, have the right to be involved when our shared spaces and history are at stake.

We’re calling on the council to:

• Stop the proposed relocation or closure plans immediately.

• Hold a full, open public consultation so every voice can be heard before any final decision is made.

• Publish the full timeline and reasoning behind this process, alternative options they have explored, including meetings, reports, and correspondence.

• Commit to transparency and accountability in all future dealings involving community assets.

We deserve honesty. We deserve respect. And we deserve a say.

Our museum tells the story of Walsall’s economic and social heritage — it should never be taken from us without our consent and the council have a track record of “temporarily” closing museums for them to never return.

If you believe our heritage, vital irreplaceable  collections and community spirit are worth fighting for, add your name today and demand the council come clean, consult the public, and keep Walsall Leather Museum where it belongs — here, at the heart of our community in an authentic 19th century leather factory.