Mayor proposes £500,000 funding for closed lock

Baits Bite lock at Milton has been closed since May 2024

The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has proposed paying £500,000 towards stabilising a closed lock.

Conservative Paul Bristow's proposal concerns Baits Bite Lock, on the River Cam at Milton, just north of Cambridge, which has been closed since May 2024.

A survey revealed structural issues and it has been shut ever since.

If approved at a meeting on 1 September, the money would contribute towards stabilisation costs but a longer term solution, previously reported as costing up to £25m, would still need to be found.

Paul Bristow says a failure at Baits Bite lock would harm Cambridge as a place to visit

"The River Cam is at the heart of Cambridge life," said Bristow.

"If these locks fail, it threatens everyone who uses and enjoys the river, as well as harming the city as a place to visit."

Papers being presented to the funding committee of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority say: "Without action, the collapse of the lock would threaten river safety, water level and flood management, and access for hundreds of daily users, from punts to boaters."

The continued closure of the lock, along with another lock at Jesus Green in Cambridge, has been the subject of protests and cross-party political lobbying.

Last week, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey visited Cambridge and warned "this iconic river could essentially disappear as we know it" if the locks were not repaired.

Sir Ed Davey addressed the issue of the Cam's locks on a recent visit to the city

On 3 August a protest, organised by Fund British Waterways, saw a flotilla of boats travel to the closed lock.

A petition has been set up by local Liberal Democrat city councillor Cheney Payne and Green party councillor Elliot Tong put forward a motion at the last full Cambridge City Council meeting to urge the government to fund the repairs.

A flotilla of boats travelled to Baits Bite lock on 3 August, protesting at the way waterways were funded

The latest funding proposal has been welcomed by Cambridge Labour MP, Daniel Zeichner.

"I am delighted that the mayor is supportive of making available government funding to help resolve this long-standing problem," he said.

"We now need all interested parties to work constructively together to ensure a long-term solution is found."

Bristow says he hopes to bring together the Cam Conservators, who are responsible for the river, together with other stakeholders to find a long-term solution.

The organisation has previously warned the repairs are beyond its financial means