Lock closed since last year to be open by Christmas

A closed-down lock on a busy stretch of river should be open before Christmas.

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.

A temporary fix estimated to cost between £1.3m and £1.5m was bolstered by £500,000 funding secured by Conservative Paul Bristow, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and work should be completed by 19 December, the combined authority said.

David Goode, chair of the Conservators of the River Cam, which manages the stretch, said the grant had been "a lifeline for us, offsetting almost one third of the cost".

He added: "We have had to use all our available funds to stabilise Baits Bite Lock and get the navigation reopened."

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

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

Money to help fund the temporary fix on the Milton lock came from part of the Combined Authority's UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation by the government and approved by the authority's board in September.

The authority said the recent work had "reinforced the lock island by filling large voids, installing tie rods to stabilise the bowing walls, and repairing major cracks and brickwork".

It said the "essential works will restore the lock's safe operation for navigation and protect its structural integrity".

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