A BY-LAW banning public overnight camping at Crowmere Lake in Frodsham needs to be imposed as quickly as possible, says town councillor Lynn Riley.
Cllr Riley has expressed concern the council-owned lake is becoming a regular weekend haunt for people, mostly from outside the area, who set up fishing camps, disturbing residents and littering the site with r ubbish.
Town clerk Alison Kunaj, and several councillors, are checking whether existing by-laws relating to other council-owned public recreation sites could also cover Crowmere Lake.
However, Cllr Riley told colleagues on Monday: 'The issue here is that Crowmere Lake is potentially a big liability for this council. There is anti-social behaviour happening there near open water and we can't leave ourselves exposed because we don't have a by-law.
'It is our responsibility and we should make sure we are policing it.'
Mayor Dennis Taylor agreed: 'This is something we have to look at very seriously.'
The issue was passed to the council's Administration and Finance Committee for further consideration.
However, committee chairman, Deputy Mayor, Cllr John Maddock, said: 'I agree we need to have some regulations to try to prevent abuse of our property, but our problem is going to be enforcing them. There is a by-law on the community centre field stating no dogs allowed, but there are hundreds of dogs on that field and we can't do anything about it. The maximum penalty for each contravention is only about £5.'
Cllr Tony Hinkins suggested day-to-day management of Crowmere Lake could be taken on by a council sub-committee, as with other council-owned sites such as Hob Hey Wood and the Memorial Field.
'This is a natural environment and quite an asset to the community and does need one of our committees to look after it and deal with any issues that arise.'
