Punting firm concerned for future if Cambridge river locks aren't improved
Replacing the locks could cost millions of pounds
A punting firm in Cambridge is concerned what the future looks like if locks on the city's river continue to be closed.
The Conservators of the River Cam - which manage Cambridge's waterways - claim if locks like Baits Bite in Milton aren't open, water levels could drop significantly, which would impact punting and access for boat users.
Baits Bite Lock has been closed since May last year due to structural issues, while Jesus Green Lock in the city centre is also closed.
"This beautiful stretch of river is maintained at this level to give the river we all know and love," Rod Ingersent, of Scudamore's Punting Company, said.
"The natural level of the river if it was not dammed up by having locks and sluice gates would be a mere trickle."
To repair Baits Bite Lock, it will cost around £1.5 million.
The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is due to set aside £500,000 towards this cost at a meeting this week.
Paul Bristow, the county's mayor, backs the move and said "one of the biggest tourist attractions we have anywhere in Cambridgeshire is under threat".
On a visit to Cambridge in August, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey supported calls to repair the locks, while the city's Labour MP Daniel Zeichner also wants progress to be made.
In an 'organisation in crisis' update published in June this year, the Conservators said replacing the current infrastructure on the River Cam is beyond its financial capacity.
The group said should lock islands fail - which could lower the water level - this would affect tourism within Cambridge.
In the document, the Conservators said temporary work to stabilise on one of the locks has been commissioned, but there are no more funds to take on further rebuilding work.
The group said that "unless specifically instructed by state or court, the necessary funding required to ensure long-term survival will not be made available."
'Very concerned'
It's thought the cost to replace the locks could rise up to around £15m to £25m.
Mr Ingersent - who also studied in Cambridge - has been involved in punting on the River Cam since the 1990s.
But he admits if water levels drop, punting will not continue.
"We are very concerned and we're trying to understand the situation and see whether we ca help be part of almost like a coalition of interested parties who can help work out a solution," he said.
"The people we've been talking to all care about the River Cam.
"That's (£500,000 from CPCA) a great demonstration of how local government can take a proactive and helpful role in helping to fund a solution to this."