Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
A councillor has called on High Peak Borough Council to take action over the long-running concerns and risks to public health from the number of wild Canada Geese and their droppings at Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens park.
Independent Cllr Madeline Hall highlighted continuing problems in the grounds and lakes at the Pavilion Gardens, off St John’s Road, which has become home for much-loved ducks but also a growing number of wild, non-native Canada Geese causing health hazards with excrement on play areas, paths and grassed parts of the park.
Cllr Hall acknowledged the council considered enforcement action in January and that the Labour-led council’s Executive considered further plans in August, but she has argued that although ‘the sentiments are worthy, the action is weak’.
She said: “Increasingly assertive notices requesting that visitors do not feed the birds have not deterred a small number of determined feeders.
“We have reached a stage where enforcement action as proposed in January 2026 is required.”
Cllr Hall called on the council’s Executive to introduce a package of measures for managing the population of Canada Geese in The Pavilion Gardens.
She claims that since 2023 the council has not taken up advice for necessary habitat changes to stop the large number of Canada Geese, and this has been followed by rejected proposals in January 2026 for geese management.
Cllr Hall says problems are continuing with the public feeding geese despite signs not to do so while waterside planting and plastic mesh fencing do not appear to have worked, and a live link of the area to help monitor problems is no longer in use, and she says culling is ill-advised because new birds will still come to the area.
The council has previously confirmed the geese have had a significant negative impact on the appearance and cleanliness of the play areas, paths and grassed spaces and their droppings, which can amount to up to a kilo per adult goose per day, carry bacteria including E.coli which could pose a health risk.
She has called on the council to not only sustain and build on current approaches, but also to train two accredited staff in Wetland Bird Survey methodology alongside running bi-annual surveys to maintain a public record of bird numbers.
Cllr Hall called for the council to adopt a formal policy identifying bird feed as litter, initiate a communication exercise with residents and visitors, and issue enforcement fines to identify persistent offenders.
Requests also included commissioning knee-high fencing on the perimeter of the Boating Lake and the lower lake, known as the Fountain Lake, respecting Historic England guidance, and discouraging geese access around the lower lake and the north-facing bank of the Wye’s southern branch with suitable planting.
Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, who oversees Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure, stated in August that the council could not ignore potential health risks and it was looking at a cleaning regime with hand-cleaning sanitising stations, while considering managing geese numbers which dominate and push out native species affecting biodiversity.
He added that people feeding geese plays a significant part in attracting the wildlife to The Pavilion Gardens so he urged people to stop feeding them.
The council has stated that it has been been implementing measures including introducing waterside planting to create a barrier and to discourage birds from grassed areas as well as raising public awareness with increased signage around the park.
However, the council conceded in September that these measures had not yet had the desired effect so officers were developing other options for managing the geese population for councillors to consider including opportunities for ecological improvements and a site biodiversity plan.
Cllr Hall’s motion for the council to introduce her wide range of measures was approved at a meeting on October 15 despite accounts that Deputy Leader, Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, stated the council was already addressing the problems even though there has been criticism to the contrary.
The council was asked for a statement over Cllr Hall’s concerns about the health hazards posed by Canada Geese at The Pavilion Gardens but it had not yet responded at the time of publication.
