Planning approval has been granted for the first section of the Camden Highline - transforming a disused railway into a 'garden in the sky.'
The elevated walkway will run 1.2km from King's Cross to Camden Town with the first of three sections now greenlighted from Camden Gardens to Royal College Street.
Modelled on New York's High Line, the scheme offers much-needed green space to local communities, and will create a new attraction for London.
It started out as a community project with a crowdfunding campaign - now The Camden Highline Charity is seeking donors to support the £14 million 'garden in the sky'.
Camden Highline CEO, Simon Pitkeathley said: "To go from a Google Earth printout, sellotaped together on our table, to a real designed thing with planning permission is amazing. I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has come with us on this exciting journey. We're now shovel ready, but need your help to continue the momentum and raise the money to deliver this amazing park in the sky."
Designers of New York's High Line James Corner Field Operations alongside local architects vPPR have drawn up plans for seating, nesting sites, a children's play zone, volunteer run allotments, and an outdoor classroom.
The planting, headed by garden designer Piet Oudolf is inspired by woodlands, productive gardens, meadows and ancient British hedgerows, and will offer a vital wildlife habitat in an urban area.
The four access points at York Way, Camley Street, Royal College Street, and Camden Gardens will be fully accessible.
Lead designer, James Corner of Field Operations said: "Camden is a unique and vibrant place and we’ve designed the Camden Highline to embrace this special character. It will serve as a green connective thread, biodiversity corridor and a community amenity, budding with opportunities for arts and culture, and an essential space for young people to learn about nature. This extraordinary urban project is exactly the type of forward thinking, inclusive project that might help to bring us together in trying times.”
Lead Architect, Tatiana von Preussen of vPPR lives and works within metres of the Camden Highline and imagines it as a "local walk" for families and "a place to bump into friends."
"The longest part serves a number of housing estates and parts of London which don't currently have any access to local green space," she said. "I'm excited about how it will bring Camden together through a beautiful, shared asset.”
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