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Camden Highline

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Camden Highline
The Camden Highline
Under a disused railway bridge at Camden Road
Map
Interactive map of Camden Highline
Typeelevated urban linear park; public park
LocationCamden Town, London, England
Coordinates51°32′30″N 0°08′20″W / 51.5418°N 0.1388°W / 51.5418; -0.1388
AreaA linear 0.75-mile (1.21 km) stretch of converted train track
StatusScrapped
Websitewww.camdenhighline.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Camden Highline is an abandoned proposal to build an elevated public park and greenway from Camden Town to King's Cross alongside the North London line railway. The scheme was an idea first proposed in a 2015 blog post that was supported by local publication, Kentishtowner. The positive feedback from readers was shared with local stakeholders and promotion of the scheme was taken up by Camden Town Unlimited, the business improvement district for Camden Town. Camden Highline was set up as a charitable company to deliver the scheme. They agreed a lease of at least 15 years from Network Rail, on the understanding the land would return to railway use, but were unable to gain planning permission from Camden Council. The charity announced on 12 May 2026 that the project was being paused indefinitely due to rising costs and fundraising issues.

Background

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The section of what is now the North London line was opened in 1850 by the East & West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway, with a new station at Camden Town opening at the same time on St Pancras Way. In 1853, the company became the North London Railway. The station on the line was renamed as Camden Road. On 1 July 1870, the name reverted to Camden Town, only to be resited further west in December of that year. The name was later changed again in 1950 to the present Camden Road. In 1984, the third platform at the station was closed and the whole section from what is now the Camden Road West Junction to Camden Road East Junction was reduced from four to two tracks.[1] As part of improvement works on the London Overground, it was intended to restore the four tracks through Camden Road station. However, the condition of the disused bridges made this unaffordable in 2008.[2] In 2021, reinstating a third track and platform at Camden Road was identified by Network Rail as an option to increase railway capacity.[3]

Project

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Proposal

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The idea of an elevated green walkway was envisioned in a December 2015 blog post by Oliver O'Brien, a geographer at University College London. This received coverage in the Kentishtowner local publication in June 2016. Readers were encouraged to support advancing the project, and it was promised that feedback would be presented to relevant stakeholders.[4] In November 2016, Kentishtowner said the project had received the support of readers. It was also supported by Simon Pitkeathley, the CEO of Camden Town Unlimited business improvement district.[5] Camden Town Unlimited promoted the scheme with the first details announced in May 2017.[6]

Design

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In 2020, an international competition was held to find a design team and 76 bids were received. Entrants included Adjaye Associates, AL_A, AHMM, Asif Khan, Coffey Architects, Cullinan Studio, CZWG, David Kohn, Grant Associates, Hawkins\Brown, Jamie Fobert Architects, LDA, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, Migrants Bureau, Weston Williamson, and Zaha Hadid Architects. International submissions were also lodged by BIG, Snøhetta, West 8, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The competition shortlist included the 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize contenders Feilden Fowles Architects; London-based Benedetti Architects; Southwark's We Made That with Hassell, Agence Ter of Paris; and US-based James Corner Field Operations, which led the team behind the High Line in New York City.[7]

Planning

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It was reported in January 2023 that the first phase of the scheme had received planning permission.[8][9] However, an approving vote by the Camden Council planning committee on 19 January 2023 was subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement that was not done. After the vote, issues with proposed works at Camden Gardens that conflicted with its designation as a protected square under the London Squares Preservation Act 1931 came to light. This required a new planning application that as of January 2026 had not been submitted and the scheme did not have planning permission.[10]

Opposition

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The scheme was opposed by Future Transport London, the former London branch of Campaign for Better Transport and Climate Emergency Camden. They argued that the project conflicts with increasing local rail use and that even if its reversal for that purpose is envisioned in a few decades time, the cost would present an obstacle; that it would have considerable embodied carbon and that upgrading the public towpath which already connects Camden Town and Kings Cross would be more cost-effective.[11] The scheme was opposed by DB Cargo, GB Railfreight and Freightliner freight operators. In response, Network Rail said the land would only be leased and could be returned to railway use in 15 years.[12]

Cancellation

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In May 2026 it was announced that the project was being paused with immediate effect, owing to "rising costs and reduced funding capacity". The chair of Camden Highline trustees stated that "the planning, creativity and imagination... will be carefully preserved by the trustees, so that whether it is us or others who one day pick up the mantle again, the project's achievements can be carried forward for the future".[13]

Governance

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Camden Highline is registered as a company (number 11205376) since 14 February 2018 and a charity (number 1191150) since 4 September 2020. Trustees include Simon Pitkeathley and Catherine Horwood.[14][15]

Fundraising

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In 2017, a crowdfunding campaign received 314 donations, raising £64,000 using the Spacehive platform. This included £20,000 from Camden Unlimited and £2,500 from Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London.[16][17] In 2019, £20,000 was secured from the UK Government to make improvements to Camden Gardens.[18] In 2020, £400,000 of Section 106 money intended for improvements to London Buses route 214 was diverted to the project.[19] The scheme was awarded £136,749 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2023.[20] The project started fundraising the construction costs in August 2019.[21][22] As of January 2024, funding was still being sought.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Joe (2012). London Railway Atlas (3rd ed.). Ian Allan Publishing. p. 26, 76, 91. ISBN 978-0711037281.
  2. ^ Klettner, Andrea (24 September 2008). "North London Line plan cut back to hit Games deadline". Construction News. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  3. ^ "The London Rail Freight Strategy" (PDF). Network Rail. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  4. ^ Kihl, Tom (2 June 2016). "Could this be London's answer to NYC's High Line Park?". Kentishtowner. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  5. ^ Kihl, Tom (26 November 2016). "Camden High Line: could it now actually happen?". Kentishtowner. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  6. ^ Kihl, Tom (21 May 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Camden High Line Plans Revealed". Kentishtowner. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  7. ^ Fulcher, Merlin (3 November 2020). "Exclusive: Finalists in Camden Highline competition named". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Laura (20 January 2023). "Planning Approval Granted For London's New 'Garden In The Sky'". Londonist. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  9. ^ Klein, Kristine (23 January 2023). "Rails to Trails: London approves planning for the first section of the Camden Highline". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  10. ^ "Planning Committee Agenda: 29 January 2026" (PDF). Camden London Borough Council. 21 January 2026. p. 52. Retrieved 16 May 2026. 6.14 However, the completion of the s106 is on hold following issues being raised by a local resident who contended that the proposed development conflicted with the designation of Camden Gardens as a protected square under London Squares Act 1931 (the "1931 Act"). The 1931 Act is a separate legal regime to planning law but can be relevant to planning. 6.15 The Camden Highline charity has been giving further consideration as to how it might address any 1931 Act issues and is continuing discussions with the Council. It is expected that any 'updated proposal', would need to be consulted upon by the LPA and then put back to the Planning Committee for further consideration.
  11. ^ Carrier, Dan (3 March 2025). "Will the Camden Highline ever get built?". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  12. ^ Johnston, Howard (20 September 2024). "Camden boost for freight operators". RAIL. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  13. ^ Michael, Chris (13 May 2026). "Camden Highline, London's answer to New York park, is scrapped". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  14. ^ "Camden Highline (11205376)". Companies House. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  15. ^ "Camden Highline (1191150)". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  16. ^ Richardson, Tim (14 August 2017). "The Garden Bridge is dead, long live the Camden Highline". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  17. ^ Richardson, Tim (29 July 2017). "Sadiq Khan throws weight behind Camden highline project". The London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  18. ^ Carrier, Dan (21 February 2020). "Camden Gardens railway heritage park 'looks like a construction site'". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  19. ^ Carrier, Dan (13 May 2026). "Highline dream of linking Camden Town and King's Cross is cancelled". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Camden Highline - Tracking the Heritage". National Lottery Heritage Fund. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  21. ^ King, Jon (2 February 2018). "Camden Highline team in crowdfunding bid as garden walkway plan clears a hurdle". Ham & High. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  22. ^ Howell, Madeleine (23 September 2018). "The battle to build London's own Highline - a 'green artery' for Camden and King's Cross". The Sunday Telegraph.
  23. ^ Specia, Megan (27 January 2024). "London's Highline Will Echo Its New York Inspiration, With Local Notes". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
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