FISHING groups in Cwmbran could be offered the chance to manage the town's boating lake, a Torfaen council report has revealed.

The council has said that problems with anti-social behaviour and unregulated fishing at the lake has led officers to consider how it could be better managed.

And now it is seeking expressions of interest from local groups to manage the lake.

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A report on the issue says: “One option is to encourage a local group to take responsibility for managing the fishing rights on a trial basis.

“The consideration of this option has coincided with a timely request from a local fishing club that is willing to form a syndicate to manage fishing at the Boating Lake.”

It is expected that the trial period would last a year.

The lake had previously been staffed by the council’s streetscene team, but this has since ended. Activities at the lake now go unmanaged and no controls are in place regulating the times fishermen can attend the site or the charge payable for fishing.

The report says: “Camping, littering and fires have become frequent, with difficulty trying to enforce any reasonable order.

“As a direct result of littering – discarded fishing tackle – the local Swan Rescue Group has experienced an increase in the number of injured swans.

“Officers are also aware that there is a local belief that the area is ‘Free to Fish’ and there is no ‘Closed Season’ to allow for fish breeding, this belief has been spread on social media and by word of mouth. This has led to an increase in activity in the area which has exacerbated the problems.”

The council said that they’d received complaints over the area around the lake being used as a toilet.

The local group who takes over management of the lake would be expected to manage and maintain the land, come up with proposals for unauthorised fishing, manage the sale of fishing permits, and to make sure wildlife is protected.