Work on Baits Bite Lock on River Cam could start at end of month

Work to stabilise the lock island at Baits Bite Lock on the River Cam is set to cost £1.5million, following a small reduction of around £12,000.

The work, if approved, could start later this month and be completed by the end of August.

Jesus Green Lock in Cambridge and Baits Bite Lock were closed in June last year for safety reasons and were flagged as requiring stabilising and rebuilding.

Conservators of the River Cam, the navigation authority that manages the waterway, said it understands the impact of the closures but that it is working hard to address the situation.

In a statement, the Conservators said overall costs of the work at Baits Bite had reduced from £1.514m to £1.510m.

It said: “The principal designer will issue the design document today. The principal contractor will price this, it will go to the reviewer for review, and then to the Conservators for approval.

“The revised programme has been issued to the reviewer, and the principal contractor. The principal contractor’s reviewed proposal will be tabled for decision by the Conservators on 27 May.

“Assuming Conservators’ approval, mobilisation for the start of the stabilisation phase of the project will be the following day, Wednesday, 28 May. Current forecast completion date is 19 August, including three weeks of weather risk allowance.”

Enabling works to prepare the site have been taking place since January.

The Conservators said last month: “We remain committed to opening Baits Bite Lock as soon as possible. As you can appreciate, with a project of this scale, there are inevitable unforeseen delays.”

Visit camconservancy.org.