Locked-in boaters face summer in limbo

Helen Cleary, of Conservators of the River Cam, said repairing both locks would cost millions of pounds

Boaters on a city stretch of water face an uncertain summer stuck between two closed locks which have been deemed too expensive to repair.

Jesus Green Lock in Cambridge and Baits Bite Lock, further north at Milton, were closed in June 2024 for safety reasons and were flagged as requiring stabilising and rebuilding.

A number of boatowners have been left stranded on the 5km (3.2mile) stretch of the River Cam ever since.

Conservators of the River Cam, the navigation authority that manages the waterway, said it could not afford to fix both sites but appealed to boaters to "bear with us".

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

David Goode and Helen Cleary hope a temporary fix can be made within the next few months

A survey by the Conservators raised issues about the structural soundness of the two locks.

The authority said insufficient financial reserves meant it could not afford to carry out works on both sites.

Chief executive Helen Cleary said: "Keeping the navigation open to boaters is one of our key criteria so we are putting a lot of work in to ensure the stabilisation of Baits Bite Lock Island is carried out within the next few months.

"It's taken a lot of time to get to this point and the conservancy are pooling a majority of the money... for the benefit of the environment and impact of the boaters."

She added that a rebuild would be needed at some point, but the current goal was to make the lock safe for use.

Visual and underwater camera surveys showed the fabric of both locks were unstable and vulnerable to collapse

Chair of the Conservators, David Goode, said leisure boaters and those who lived onboard had been unable to move their vessels.

"If we could open the lock tomorrow to let them through we would, but it is not safe so we can't," he said.

"The message to them now is to stick with it, bear with us, help us out where they can and to look forward to the day it does reopen and they can get out."

He added if the lock islands, which separate the lock from the main waterway, failed at Jesus Green, there could be a huge loss of water along the backs of the Cambridge colleges.

This could affect punting, habitats and the environment, Mr Goode said.