manager. The National Coal Museum For some years before closure, the mine had been identified as being a possible heritage attraction and a working group was set up made up of the National Coal Board, local government, the National Museum, the Welsh Development Agency and the Welsh Office. Soon after the pit closed, Torfaen Borough Council bought the site for £1 and it was given to a charitable trust called the Big Pit (Blaenavon) Trust to manage the conversion to a heritage museum. The initial development cost £1.5 million with funding from the Welsh Tourist Board, the European Regional Development Fund, the borough council and Gwent County Council. The mine reopened for visitors in 1983 and created 71 jobs. A number of buildings were subsequently given protected status at the site. The Powder House, Saw mill Office and the Electrical Workshop, were each given Grade II listed building status on 2 September 1995. The Pit Head Building, Headframe & Tram Circuit and the Miners' Bathhouse were both given Grade II* listed building status, also on 2 September 1995. The Powder House building was used to store explosives needed for mine work during the time Big Pit was an active mine. Big Pit as a tourist attraction Visitor numbers were initially lower than expected, which threatened the long-term viability of the museum. In 1983, fewer than 100,000 visitors came to the site and the numbers reached a peak of 120,000 in 1992. Subsequently, the visitor numbers reduced significantly to less than 90,000 in 1998. The project plan at the start of the project suggested that 100,000 visitors were needed per year in the first five years. By 2000, it was clear that this target was not being achieved and that the £5.75 adult entry fee was not covering costs. A substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant of more than £5 million was awarded in January 2000 which paid for a significant upgrade of the visitor facilities. On 1 February 2001, the museum was incorporated into the National Museum Wales; it was initially known as the "National Mining Museum of Wales", but is now called "Big Pit: National Coal Museum". As part of the National Museum Wales, the Big Pit became free to enter in 2001, and in 2015 First Minister Carwyn Jones announced that there would be "no payment for entry into any of the National Museums attractions". Since becoming part of