WILDLIFE presenter Kate Humble wants to turn a Monmouthshire farm into a centre for excellence for rural skills.

The Springwatch and former Animal Park presenter and her TV producer husband Ludo Graham are also inviting the council, which owns Meend Farm, near Penallt, to join them in their venture and retain a 30 per cent stake as an investment.

If the council’s cabinet committee, which meets tomorrow to discuss the proposals, agrees, the centre would offer courses in sustainable farming skills, rural crafts and wildlife conservation.

It would also become a flagship for renewable energy and the farm, which forms part of the 118-acre site, would continue to run as a working farm.

Ms Humble, who has lived in the area with her husband for the past four years, said: “Monmouthshire’s backbone is farming and it is justifiably famous as a place where good food is produced. We want to create a business which allows people from all over the country to learn about how good food is produced, and how to do it themselves.”

Her husband said the couple had wanted to open a centre for a long time, but location, commercial viability, and a place which brought benefits to the wider community were key. He said the pair finally felt they had found the right place and were looking forward to seeing their plans come to fruition.

A report to cabinet members says the project would not only bring a financial return to the council, but would become a “prestigious, prominent and iconic destination designed to stimulate growth in the local rural, food and tourism industries and celebrate ‘brand Monmouthshire”.

Cllr Bob Greenland, the authority’s cabinet member for modernisation, enterprise and communications, said the scheme would attract visitors from all over the UK, promoting the area, creating new jobs and providing a valuable learning resource for local schools.