Work is set to start in September 2023 on a £3m repair and maintenance project for Plymouth’s lock gates.
The gates form a key part of the city’s coastal defences, protecting hundreds of homes and businesses from flooding, and providing access to the marina and fish quays in the Sutton Harbour and Barbican area of the city.
The project is being managed by the Environment Agency, with funding from the UK Government, and will see the replacement of worn lock gate sills and other key maintenance items. Work will be carried out by construction and infrastructure company Kier.
Sutton Harbour Company, the Statutory Harbour Authority, which operates the lock, Plymouth Fisheries and Sutton Harbour Marina, has worked with the Environment Agency and Kier in planning for the project and how operations and access will be maintained in the harbour.
“The tidal gates are a critical part of Plymouth’s coastal flood defences, and we are pleased to see such a significant investment taking place in their repair and refurbishment to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the tidal barrage for another decade,” said a spokesman from Sutton Harbour Company.
The scheme will be carried out in two phases, with the aim of minimising, wherever possible, disruption to the harbour’s fishing and leisure fleets.
Work to the outer gates will take place between September 4 – December 8 2023, with no planned restrictions on the operation of the lock gates after November 7 2023, while the remainder of the first phase works are completed.
Work on the stoplog gate across the old harbour entrance is planned to take place between November 13 and November 17. Work to the inner gates will take place between March 11 – June 17 2024, with no planned restrictions on the operation of the lock gates after May 16 2024
