City landmarks to benefit from £800,000 funding

Combined authority mayor, Paul Bristow, says he wanted to kickstart saving the River Cam by stabilising Baits Bite Lock to protect the river

The future of two key tourism sites in a county could be secured after receiving an £800,000 investment from a combined authority.

The funding would help protect the River Cam and Peterborough Cathedral, which were described by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow as "two of our region's greatest assets".

About £500,000 would go to stabilise the River Cam's Baits Bite Lock at Milton, which would have a "catastrophic" effect on the city's punting industry if it failed.

The Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Combined Authority also approved £299,432 for a modern lighting system at Peterborough Cathedral to safeguard its future.

The funds for the projects will come from the authority's allocation of the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Baits Bite Lock, just north of Cambridge, has been closed since May 2024 after a survey revealed structural issues.

The Cam Conservators, a group that manages the city waterway, said the lock could go bust if it was unable to find the money to repair unsafe locks, including Jesus Green Lock in the city centre.

Boaters were trapped between the two locks and work to replace them was estimated at £25m.

The possible collapse of a lock island could take out a sluice, lowering the river water level, which could put an end to punting.

New cathedral lighting would "safeguard one of our most iconic landmarks," says Bristow (also pictured with Jan Armitage, Anna Bentley, and Rev Canon Tim Alban Jones)

The money from the combined authority would go to the Cam Conservators to pay for urgent work to stabilise the structure, while longer-term solutions are found for both Baits Bite and the similarly at-risk Jesus Lock.

The group had started a project to temporarily stabilise Baits Bite Lock island, which was forecast to cost between £1.3m and £1.5m.

The £299,432 will be spent on replacing the current lighting at the cathedral for a modern, energy-efficient system.

It aimed to improve safety, accessibility and give cathedral capacity to host a range of events, which could establish new revenue streams and help it become a civic hub.

Bristow said: "This decision is about protecting two of our region's greatest assets. Heritage and tourism are vital to our economy and identity, and we must make sure they are not left behind as our region grows.

"This is about doing fewer things but doing them really well – and making sure our investments truly count for local people and for generations to come," he added.

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