Charging for tours at Big Pit National Coal Museum is 'wrong'

Wales Online

2 days ago

Charging for tours at Big Pit National Coal Museum is 'wrong'
A report has criticised the new admission fee for underground tours at Big Pit in Blaenavon and calls on the Welsh Government to better fund our museums
Amgueddfa Cymru has recently introduced admission fees for underground tours at Big Pit
(Image: David Williams/WALES NEWS SERVICE )
It is wrong to charge people to enter the Big Pit National Coal Museum, according to a Senedd committee. A charging trial which began in April set the ticket price for underground tours at £8 per person, with some concessions, until July 2026.
However, the culture committee's report on charging for exhibitions asks the Welsh Government to fund Amgueddfa Cymru enough so that underground tours at Big Pit in Blaenavon, Torfaen, can be free of charge. It argues that access should remain free in principle and calls for better government funding for Welsh museums.
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The committee argued that the underground tours which the fee has been introduced for are not an optional extra or a luxury, but is a fundamental part of the Big Pit museum.
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It comes after a previous report by the committee which showed that, after a decade of funding cuts, Wales was the second poorest nation in Europe in terms of spending per person on culture. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Delyth Jewell MS, chair of the culture committee said: "Free entry to national museums has been a successful policy and we want to see it continue – as a matter of principle, no one should have to pay to enjoy collections that belong to the people of Wales.
"As the custodians of our nation's history, the Welsh Government has a responsibility to fund our national institutions adequately so that they can afford to provide free entry to everyone. But it has not been meeting this responsibility.
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"Over a decade, the Welsh Government has cut public funding for culture in Wales to the extent that it's one of the lowest levels in Europe. Ministers even made suggestions that charging for entry to museums was 'on the table'.
"There have been some welcome increases for culture in the latest budget, but it does not obscure the real terms cut in funding the sector has had to endure, and the Welsh Government is yet to find a way to provide sustainable funding that recognises the worth of our culture."
Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, is one of Amgueddfa Cymru's seven museums. It offers underground tours led by former miners so visitors can explore the original mine shafts and machinery.
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The committee notes that Amgueddfa Cymru said most visitors were happy with the amount they paid – but as a matter of principle, recommend that underground tours should remain free of charge.
The report made another four recommendations, including that income from temporary exhibitions should not replace the need for adequate public funding for museums, and that the Welsh Government should explore ways of helping organisations host more temporary exhibitions to improve the range of exhibitions on offer.