Boaters relieved that river lock is reopening

Boaters said they were relieved to be able to cruise again after it was announced that a lock would soon reopen.

Baits Bite Lock, on the River Cam at Milton, just north of Cambridge, has been closed since May 2024 after a survey revealed structural issues.

Clive Brown, a boater who formed Conservators of the River Cam, said: "We've been locked into this part of the river since May last year."

Work should be completed by 19 December.

Both Jesus Green Lock in the city centre and Baits Bite Lock in Milton were closed to navigation after being deemed unsafe and "in imminent danger of collapse".

"That is basically two seasons of cruising for us that have been taken away," Mr Brown said.

He said it "would be quite a relief" for people as they are able to travel on the water again.

He said the cost of the repairs to both locks could be "enormous" but said they "have got to be done".

Steve Wale said the river meant "everything" to him after living on it or adjacent to it for about 55 years.

The 76-year-old boater said he was only expecting the work to happen for a couple of months, and said "communication was an issue from day one" after not being told to move beyond the lock before it closed.

"I appreciate they need funds, but they can't look at us and say pay for nothing," he said.

Ally Clarke, a boater on the River Cam, said she had a "slight fear and anxiety" about travelling through the lock again.

She said having to maintain her boat had been a struggle whilst the lock was closed, and she needed to get to "one of the boat yards and through the lock".

"It has been stressful but at the same time we are lucky to be living in a nice place," Ms Clarke said.

Work to completely replace the structures could cost about £25m, according to previous reports.

Money to help fund the temporary fix, which has cost around £1.5m, came from part of the combined authority's UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation by the government.

It was bolstered by £500,000 funding, secured by Conservative Paul Bristow, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Conservators of the River Cam have a statutory responsibility to keep the waterway open to river traffic between Bottisham Lock, at Waterbeach, and the Mill Pond in Cambridge city centre.

David Goode, chair of the Conservators of the River Cam, said the money from the mayor had been a "a lifeline" for them.

"It is an enormous relief for everybody... this has happened for quite a few people and it is a very sorry situation we have found ourselves in," he said.

He said the lock was being stabilised and should last for a few years, but it could not be guaranteed.

He admitted that the group had "failed to undertake historic infrastructure maintenance" due to finance issues.

Martin Smart, cabinet member for nature, open space and city services at Cambridge City Council, said: "We have given money to help support the conservators to do the work they need to do, so that is for them to get a business plan together."

The Labour councillor said two officers had also been supplied to help the group and was "pleased" the lock was reopening ahead of Christmas.

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