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Lock's £2m upgrade delayed by a month

Alex Popein Bedford
Alex Pope/BBC The River Great Ouse, with a bank on the other side of the river, with lots of trees, a guillotine block all covered in white covering and scaffolding, also machinery and vehicles around the building. Alex Pope/BBC
Bedford Lock remains closed while work is carried out

A £2m project to renovate and restore a lock that is more than 150 years old has been delayed by a month.

Work on Bedford Lock, by the town's Embankment, started in October and was supposed to be finished by 3 April, the Environment Agency said.

A spokesperson for the public body said it would now reopen on 29 April.

An extension was required "to complete the works and perform safety checks before opening for use by the general public", it added.

Alex Pope/BBC A large structure, covered in white covering, with scaffolding around it, a fenced off area, with blue covering up. A large area of grass in front of the fencing and trees all round it. Alex Pope/BBC
Part of Bedford's Embankment has been fenced off so the work can be carried out

The lock, the first in the town, allows the Great Ouse to be navigated, along its route through Cambridgeshire to the Wash at King's Lynn, in Norfolk.

Repairs were needed as the walls were breaking due to damage caused by tree roots chopped down in 2009.

The structure was built in 1868 and was last refurbished in the 1950s.

The upgrade has been two years in the planning.

Alex Pope/BBC A man, in full orange high-viz clothing, holding a drill, down the bottom of a lock, with machinery, and metal scaffolding by him. There are red brick walls around him. Alex Pope/BBC
When the lock was fully drained, lots of conkers were found in the bottom, workers said

The Environment Agency spokesperson said: "An extension of the lock closure was required to complete the works and perform safety checks before opening for use by the general public.

"The Environment Agency has kept partners and stakeholders informed throughout this process."

New doors will also be fitted at one end and the guillotine gate will be renovated and painted, the Environment Agency previously said.

Alex Pope/BBC Work being carried out on a lock, with two men at one side, machinery below it, metal barriers, metal frames, a bridge and a metal shutter blocking off the other end. Alex Pope/BBC
Work started in October 2025

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