Key Broads link to shut for two months for repairs

Mutford Lock, at Oulton Broad, which provides passage to boats from the Broads to the North Sea, will close for two months while engineering work takes place

A key route in and out of the Broads National Park is to close for two months while a historic lock is repaired.

Mutford Lock at Oulton Broad in Suffolk provides passage to boats from the Broads to the North Sea.

It is one of only two entry and exit points with the other being via the Yare at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.

The project would replace sluices which have failed on one set of the lock gates and the Broads Authority said although the lock is able to operate with just one sluice working, a long-term fix was needed.

The Broads Authority says the lock is able to operate with just one sluice working but a long term repair is now needed

The sluices allow water to be released in and out from one side to the other to match the water level on Oulton Broad with that on the tidal Lake Lothing, on the seaward side.

Inspections of the remaining wooden gates would also take place during the project.

A 60-tonne crane would be used to lift the gates to complete the repairs which were due to start 3 February until 28 March.

During that time boats would be unable to pass through the lock but Haven Bridge near Great Yarmouth would remain operational.

'Gateway to the Southern Broads'

Mutford Lock is known as the gateway to the Southern Broads and it has provided a vital route to the North Sea.

For three years, it was the only entry and exit point to the Broads while Haven Bridge was closed for repairs.

Mutford Lock was built in 1828 as part of a series of works to create a new navigation route for traders from the North Sea to Norwich.

This included opening Lake Lothing in Lowestoft to the North Sea to provide a harbour and the construction of Mutford Lock to provide access onto Oulton Broad.

The Broads Authority has managed and maintained the lock since the 1990s along with Suffolk County Council and the Association of British Ports.

Running costs are more than £40,000 per year and it was previously estimated that ongoing repair work needed over the next 40 years would cost £1.67m.