Travellers set up camp on Black Country Living Museum’s car park

From the Express and Star

Travellers have smashed their way through a steel gate and set up camp on an overflow car park belonging to the Black Country Living Museum.

Eight caravans and a motor home were today at the site next to the popular tourist attraction, which is expected to be visited by dozens of families over the weekend.

Bosses at the venue they were “disappointed”, but insisted the museum would be open as normal. They said legal action would be taken if the Travellers were still there on Monday.

Police were called after passers-by saw a group trying to smash their way through an 8ft gate to get into the site at around 2pm yesterday [16th March].


When museum staff arrived the Travellers refused to leave – and police confirmed there was a “confrontation”.

But officers said it was a “civil dispute” and left the scene when they were satisfied an “amicable solution” had been found.

Museum visitor services manager Kev Cooksey said the car park – next to the old Royal Brierley Crystal site where a £6 million archives centre is planned – would not have been used this weekend.

He said: “We are very disappointed. They have entered private ground and we have asked them to leave but they have refused.

“We wouldn’t have used the car park this weekend anyway and they are at the far end of the site which is 100 yards from the museum, so we don’t expect it to have any impact this weekend.

Police spokesman Lee Page said: “We attended an ongoing dispute which was resolved amicably between those involved without any police involvement.

“We attended originally because there had been a confrontation but it is now a civil matter.”