Council chief hopes unseasonable weather will stop people visiting Buxton’s dangerous ‘Blue Lagoon’

During the warm weather in recent weeks, thousands of visitors have flocked to the Hoffman Quarry, which is also referred to as the ‘Blue Lagoon’.

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The cold water in the pool there – which has a PH level similar to bleach and contains other hazards – has been dyed from blue to black to make it less attractive and new signage highlighting the dangers has been put up on the privately-owned site.

Residents have been left at the end of their tether by visitors’ inconsiderate – sometimes dangerous – parking as well as the amount of litter they leave behind and other anti-social behaviour they commit.

High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service are working together to try and tackle the problems.

Jean Todd, the council’s executive councillor for the environment and community safety, said: “The change in the weather will hopefully put people off coming this weekend – and even if that doesn’t, the litter and the mess that has been left behind by previous visitors should hopefully deter them from staying and adding to the problem.

“Our message remains the same – and we can’t stress it enough – this former industrial quarry is most definitely not a ‘visitor attraction’ and people should stay away for their own safety.”

Last weekend the police issued almost 50 fines for parking offences and seized two vehicles which were parked dangerously.

Sergeant Adam Harrison said: “We continue to work with our partner organisations to help resolve the situation and deter people from attending the quarry by explaining the very real dangers it poses.

“The situation will remain under close observation and officers will continue working in the area to provide a visible presence over the coming days.

“I would like to thank residents for their continued support to both my officers and partner agencies over the past weeks.”

Since the weekend, firefighters have attended two separate grass fires at the quarry.

Paul Hawker, group manager with the fire service, said: “We are continuing to work with our partners to deter visitors, maintaining a visible presence at the quarry where possible, and we will continue to explore other ways of deterring visitors to a site that is anything but the idyllic tourist attraction that it has been described as – it now resembles a waste tip with discarded unpleasant rubbish.

“I’d like to remind people that cold water causes your body to go into shock, you gasp for air, your muscles spasm and you become disorientated – even the strongest swimmers can quickly get into difficulty.

“Our message is quite simple, stay away – the quarry is private land and you are trespassing and the water is dangerous and you will be at high risk of drowning if you go swimming there.”

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