PROPOSED arrangements for a new organisation which will provide tourism, leisure, culture and youth services in Monmouthshire have been revealed.

Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) approved the establishment of an Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) earlier this year which will see a trading company deliver services under the control of the council.

Similar models have been set up in Newport and Torfaen, where Newport Live and Torfaen Leisure Trust, respectively, run the services.

Early plans for the new set-up have now been revealed in a council report. Under the proposed arrangements a charity called MonLife, independent from the council, will be set up.

The charity will be grant funded by MCC to continue to deliver services on its behalf, although it will be outside of local authority control, it will be closely monitored by the council.

It is expected that the council will be able to appoint two of the charity trustees, with the remaining seven, including the chairman, recruited from outside the council by directors.

The charity will operate alongside a company called MonLife Plus which will follow the Teckal principle to deliver services.

A Teckal company operates with no private financial investment and would be owned by the council.

MonLife Plus would be funded by public money to deliver services on behalf of the council under the proposals. Both the Teckal company and the charity would be limited companies.

Services delivered by the charity MonLife would include leisure, outdoor education, youth service, attractions and museums, according to draft documents.

Assets which the charity would be responsible for include Caldicot Castle, Shire Hall in Monmouth, four leisure centres, three museums and three outdoor education sites.

Meanwhile MonLife Plus would provide services in areas of play, countryside and green, and strategic tourism.

Funding of £155,000 has been agreed to pay for the setting up of the ADM, while £388,000 has been set aside for the next five years.

Councillors agreed to set up an ADM after budget pressures saw tourism, leisure, culture and youth services hit by council cuts over recent years, with the budget having been reduced from £6.5m in 2010 to £4.4m.

MCC says the new set-up will ensure these services are able to thrive and respond to current and future needs of the community.

The proposed governance arrangements will be discussed by the council’s audit select committee on Thursday, July 5.

Committee members will be asked to give guidance on the proposals.

A decision on enactment of the ADM by full council is expected to be made in October.