Overview

• CamCon, which has managed the River Cam since 1702 and employs just three full-time staff, warns that it cannot finance necessary lock repairs without risking insolvency.
• Jesus Lock island and Baits Bite Lock are rated structurally unsound, with the latter closed for over a year and boat owners left stranded.
• Emergency stabilisation is priced at £1.5 million per lock island, while full replacements could cost between £10 million and £15 million each.
• A collapse would drain the Backs stretch into a muddy trickle, ending punting, disrupting university rowing and undermining Cambridge’s tourist economy.
• Constrained by a parliamentary act to fee-based income, CamCon is seeking to overhaul its funding model to secure contributions from local residents, businesses and the University of Cambridge.