Behind the scenes as Black Country Living Museum gets ready for reopening

Those are the words Andrew Lovett, chief executive of the Black Country Living Museum – as staff get ready to open their doors to visitors once again after nearly five months.

But since first closing in March last year, the museum, based off Tipton Road, has faced losing around £5.5 million. It has received cash boosts through the Job Retention Scheme, financial support from the Arts Council England's Emergency Response Fund and a grant from the Government's Cultural Recovery Fund.

When the Black Country Living Museum reopens on Monday, May 17 the changes to the site guests saw will still be operation – including one-way systems, social distancing, enhanced cleaning and pre-booked ticket slots. The underground mine experience is set to remain closed for now.

Mr Lovett said: "We are really excited about opening in a few days time. The advantage of this reopening is that we know that the safety measures are very much tried and tested – and I think the feedback we had from visitors last year was positive.

"We were anxious not to spoil someone's visit by putting measures in place which were kind of a distraction from them enjoying their visit to the Black Country Museum. I think we struck the right balance with being safe, and what made the visitors and our staff feel safe. Yet also we didn't hamper the visit either.

"Some of the top line measures are that you need to book your visit in advance – people can do that through our website and they need to book a timed slot as well. We are selling tickets at the moment through until June 27.

"There will be a one-way system again and we are also putting a cap on the maximum number of visitors allowed on site, we aren't disclosing what that is. The one-way system will operate around the site and there will be plenty of staff around the site to help people navigate their way.

"We have much more cleaning going on, the cleaning regime has been stepped up considerably. And we are doing many, many more things outside of course, whether that is in the colliery, or by the canal or in the park. Also the other important measure, we have trained our staff in terms of making sure that the venue is Covid-safe – so together all those measures will hopefully give people a safe and enjoyable visit.

"Our mine is a very constrained space – and it does need work on it. So the mine will not reopening yet, but everything else will be open.

"The staff and volunteers are very much looking forward to reopening – the whole purpose of a museum is to be open for visitors. We have actually been closed slightly longer this time than the first initial lockdown. We closed after some of our Christmas events last year, I think it was December 21, and when we reopen on May 17 it will have been 147 days since we closed. In that context, staff are desperate to welcome back visitors, the site comes to life with visitors. It will be quite a moment to welcome them back.

"I think the easiest way to look at it is in terms by the time we have reopened we will have had to claim money from various sources to keep us going – something like £5.5 million. It's been a combination of the Job Retention Scheme, emergency funding from the Arts Council and then the big one of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund. If you put all those together, it is going to be nearly £5.5 million.

"Ultimately that's all come from the tax payer but without it we wouldn't have been able to survive. Without that kind of level of support we would have been facing a very difficult future – but thankfully we are not, we are facing a good future."

Mr Lovett said he thinks it was right for the reopening of museums to be delayed until May – compared to other outdoor attractions including zoos and theme parks reopening in April.

He said: "I think it was right to wait that little bit longer to reopen museums under the roadmap and I was quite happy to wait. I stated that in public, I am the chair of the biggest museums association in the country and on behalf of that association I said that if it means we can open and have more assurance of remaining open, than I think that is worth waiting for a few extra weeks.

"I think it was the right thing to do and one of the most heartening things, even when you are closed, is the public feedback you constantly get through social media channels and it is a real boost to our confidence that people want to be back and visiting."

Events are planned at the museum for the rest of the year as long as Covid restrictions allow – including the 1940s weekend in July, Peaky Blinders Nights in September and November, Halloween in October and a number of Christmas events in December.

While the attraction's Forging Ahead project, which was delayed during the pandemic, is now back on its feet thanks to Government funding support. Guests are expected to start seeing the buildings and structures of the new villages emerging from the ground in the coming months.

Mr Lovett said: "Our Forging Ahead project is steaming ahead again – and it feels like it is even more important to our future than it did when we were planning it.

"That is cracking on very nicely, and in the next few months visitors will start to see buildings and structures emerging from the ground and foundations – it's just creating a new stage on which to tell stories which we are really thrilled about."

Since it closed its doors in December, the Black Country Museum has acted as a mass Covid vaccination centre – something that will remain up and running when the attraction opens its doors on May 17.

Mr Lovett said: "The vaccine centre will remain at the museum when we reopen. There will be a separate entrance for people coming to have their vaccinations. We are really pleased that that is carrying on – it's been a wonderful use of the museum while we have been closed.

"We will welcome them here as long as they want to be. I've heard that a lot of people have said well I've chosen to have my vaccination at the museum because it meant more to me – I did the same, I came for my first vaccination here a few weeks ago.

"It's been a great thing for us to do. It will continue in parallel to us being open as a museum but there will be a separate entrance, but we will run the two as parallel for as long as the NHS wants us to be a vaccination centre."