By Rachel Alexander

Copyright birminghammail

Walsall Council has doubled down on its stance to dispose of the leather museum building despite pleas from the community. Cabinet members of Walsall Council met on Wednesday, September 24, to approve plans of purchasing a new town centre building for the museum, and the disposal of the existing museum building at Littleton Street West to Walsall College. READ MORE: Council bosses to sign off on Walsall Leather Museum plans tomorrow Walsall College plans to locate its special educational needs and disability offering in the current leather museum building, which already forms part of the college’s Broadway site, adjacent to the main campus. The move comes after the former leader of the council, Garry Perry, pulled the proposal to relocate the leather museum to an unknown town centre location in the 2025/26 budget earlier this year. At the time Perry said ‘it was only right’ that any changes to the museum were done in collaboration with those who fought to save it. The original proposal said the attraction would move into a council-owned building in the town centre. But now the authority has said none of its existing buildings could accommodate the museum, and cabinet members were asked to give the go ahead for regeneration portfolio holder, Councillor Adrian Andrew, and executive director for economy and environment, Dave Brown, to purchase a new property to house it. Since February several meetings have been held with those who were involved in the campaign to save the museum, led by Lauren Broxton. Lauren, a leather fashion designer from Walsall, said when she saw earlier this week that plans were set to be approved it gave her ‘shivers’. Addressing cabinet members, the 35-year-old said: “I have campaigned extensively over the course of the last seven months, exhaustingly to try and preserve the heritage of the leather museum in its current location. “We have liaised over the last seven months with council executives, putting forward alternative proposals. I have rallied my industry contacts, my academic contacts, I have run myself ragged going after this cause. “Yesterday we saw the news. At the very last minute, we saw that this item would be decided tonight. Honestly, it gave me shivers because we have done everything to future proof the building. “It almost seems like due processes by the council have not been followed. Timelines that have been promised have not been followed. It feels as though everything is working against us.” Leader of the authority, Councillor Mike Bird, assured Lauren that due process had been followed, said the finances could not sustain the museum as the council looks to plug a gap of £20million, and claimed that the building itself ‘lends nothing’ to the offering. He said: “The running costs of the museum are £190,000 per annum. The visitor numbers over the last three years, averaged £17.72 per head for every body that came in. Basically, what that means is if we give everyone £10 to go home, we would save money. “Now I’m sorry, the finances, which are under my portfolio, cannot sustain that kind of figure. “Whilst I hear about the cultural heritage and that itself has a value, but having said that, the building itself lends nothing except to say it was an old leather factory. “The repurposing of that building for the college will improve the lives of people with special educational needs. In my view, that is to be a little more acceptable to the members of the public.” Over a dozen Walsall residents gathered outside the council house to protest against the plans. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Andy Boys said: “What the council has achieved tonight is to organise a meeting at the 11th hour without people who have been involved in this. “There was a peer planning review which said the council lacked probity in decision making. We’re witnessing it tonight.” Vicky Roden said: “The leather museum represents 160 years of history in one place but it also represents 40 years of solid museum reputation. That’s the sort of thing money can’t buy.” David Lloyd added: “You can’t transplant heritage from one palace to another. As parents in Walsall the leather museum is a cheap day out where you can access culture and heritage, but that seems to be completely disregarded.”