Weston Marine Lake to close for repairs after North Somerset Council investment

The Marine Lake in Weston-super-Mare will close temporarily later this month for repair work.

North Somerset Council say they need to close the tidal lake to replace two faulty sluice gates from Monday 19 September.

The work is expected to take a few weeks and the pool will reopen when the tide is high enough to overtop the lake.

This is currently estimated to happen on or around Thursday 6 October, with the lake reopening to the public shortly afterwards.

The work is part of the £300,000 investment from the council to bring the lake back into use as an outdoor swimming and watersports destination.

The lake reopened to open water swimmers at the start of the summer season in June after tonnes of silt was removed.

Councillor Mike Solomon said: “It’s been joyful to see the lake being enjoyed by so many residents and visitors since it re-opened at the start of June.

"This is testament to all the hard work that went in to restoring the lake and by so many people.

"I must take this opportunity to thank the volunteers at Weston Marine Lake Mudlarks, not only for their continued support with this project but for all their efforts over the busy summer period. I’m pleased that the sluice gates will be replaced later this month.”

The council is working with the Weston Marine Lake Mudlarks, a group of volunteers who assist with the management of the lake.

Claire Trevor-Roper, one of the directors of the Mudlarks, said: "We’re extremely pleased that the new sluice gates will be installed soon, and that the council’s executive has committed to maintain and manage them.

"It’ll be interesting to find out how much silt has re-entered the lake since it re-opened in June. This will provide a guide of how often the lake will need to be drained in the future.”

The council’s investment in Weston’s Marine Lake is part of its £700,000 'Great Lakes' project which includes work to revitalise Clevedon's Marine Lake and Portishead Lake Grounds.