THE fate of Caldicot Castle will not be decided for another six months and pending the outcome of the £30,000 heritage report.

In March the council posed the idea of running the castle and country park as a charitable trust but have yet to come to a decision on the long term management for the site which cost £250,080 to run in 2013/14.

Monmouthshire's cabinet agreed earlier this month for £30,000 to be put aside to finance an independent report exploring the future of some of the county’s prized cultural assets including the castle.

But a decision on whether the castle will be granted trust status will have to wait six months for the report and then for that report to go before the cabinet or full council.

The Friends of Caldicot Castle group, which started as a pressure group three years ago have now adopted a task force to helps maintain the castle's fishponds.

Kay Harris, secretary of the group, said: "The council say the castle needs to be self sufficient and I agree with that but we have had no information on what trust status could mean.

"My personal wish is that the council keeps it and repairs the damage that has been done over the past two years. They got rid of the shop and curators.

She added: "There is no welcome there now - there isn't anybody to greet you or provide background information. Visitors can have a cup of coffee and a cake in the cafe but no sandwiches.

"The council needs to invest to keep it. People used to book in December and January for the following year's banquets but that is not happening now."

The Caldicot Castle and Country Park Advisory Group which was set up by the council to advise on the development of plans for the castle has not had a meeting for the past year. It was made up of county councillors, Caldicot Town Council and Portskewett Community Council, local community groups, including the castle’s friends group, the local history society, Caldicot U3A group and the chamber of commerce, with tourism and heritage experts.

The council estimate an investment of £3 million is needed on the castle and the grounds. The authority spent £22,000 on a refurbishment to the castle’s cafe area and upgraded a bar and retail space.

Kellie Beirne, Monmouthshire council's chief officer for regeneration and culture, and Ian Saunders, the head of tourism leisure and culture, were due to discuss cultural services in the area at a Caldicot Town Council meeting last night.