NEW powers to keep people out of a quarry where several people have drowned in recent years could be adopted by Malvern Hills District Council.

Members of the council’s executive committee will next week be asked to consider adopting a Public Space Protection Order to cover the Gullet Quarry, off Castlemorton Common.

The order is available to the council under the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

A report going before the committee says that despite patrols by the police, fire service and Malvern Hills Trust wardens in the summer, there are still frequent incidents of people getting into the lake to swim.

“Under the bye-laws that cover the trust’s land, entry into the fenced-out area, and swimming in the quarry itself are unlawful. However attempts to enforce these bye-laws have proved difficult to implement.

“The police have attended the site on a number of occasions this year, at the trust’s request, and successfully moved people on, but contraventions have continued.”

It the order is approved, anyone who goes through the perimeter fence or enters the water, or who drinks alcohol in the area, will be subject to a £100 fixed penalty, which could rise to £1,000 if unpaid. The district council will be responsible for operating the scheme.

The order will lapse after three years, with the option to renew it for a further three years.

At its meeting on Tuesday June 25, the executive committee will decide whether to launch a public consultation on the proposal, as the first step in the process of making the order.