A group of locals has urged the University of Cambridge to help fund repairs to the River Cam’s crumbling locks, amid warnings that punting and rowing could be under threat.

The Cambridge Valley Forum, a local conservation group, said the river’s maintenance authority, the Conservators of the River Cam (CamCon), lacks the resources to carry out the urgent work on the locks.

CamCon, whose income comes largely from licence fees paid by boat owners and commercial punting firms, receive no financial support from the City Council, the University or its colleges.

Anne Miller, co-chair of Cam Valley Forum, told the Cambridge Independent: “We are deeply disappointed that a city like Cambridge, with some vastly wealthy colleges, global technology companies that generate over £50bn of turnover per year, and millionaire residents, cannot provide the funding needed.

“The £1.5 million needed for the temporary stabilisation work for each lock island, and the estimated £10-15 million needed for the ultimate replacement of each lock can surely be found,” Miller continued.

Clive Brown, a former Conservator, added: “The Conservators have suffered for many years from underfunding. The cost of maintaining the river for navigation has to a major extent fallen on those who register their boats, particularly the punting industry.

“It is high time that the university, and the wider population who benefit from the river, start to bear some of the costs, either directly or through council subsidies.”

Water levels on the Backs are controlled by lock islands, which are several hundred years old. Jesus Lock island is located where punting begins, and Baits Bite Lock is situated a few miles north along the river. Without them, this stretch of the river would be incredibly shallow.

According to CamCon, these locks are in a state of disrepair, with a risk that they could collapse entirely. Were this to happen, water levels could drop so significantly that the Backs would no longer be able to support punting or rowing

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey visited Cambridge on Friday (16/08), adding to the calls for repairs. He stated the locks “urgently need to be repaired and potentially rebuilt”.

Rod Ingersent, managing director of Scudamores, warned the Gazette Series that failure to act would be “catastrophic for punting” and could even put riverside college buildings “at risk from the foundations being affected”.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge told the Cambridge Independent: “We recognise the huge importance of the river in the life of the city, and are part of a wider group – including the Conservators, the local MP, local authorities and local businesses – discussing the development of a viable business plan to support the work of the Conservators in maintaining navigation on the Cam.”