London highline gets green light

London's going to have a park in the sky, similar to the New York Highline. In the same way, the new green area will follow a former railway line. Simon Pitkeathley's in charge of the Camden Highline.

Simon Pitkeathley: "We're hoping to build an amazing park in the sky, as you can sort of see behind me, the other side of that wall there. There's going to be this walkway between Kings Cross and Camden Town that's going to be a pleasant, beautiful environment in which to move between these very vibrant parts of London."

Getting the project started has required five long years, and cost more than a million pounds. Planners, designers, politicians and local people have come together to make it work and it's recently received planning permission.

The park will run alongside a used railway, but the peace and beauty of the place will be protected by a wall. The plan is to grow trees, plants and flowers and special wildlife-friendly environments will be built. There'll also be several places to sit and enjoy the area.

As approximately £35 million is needed, it's hoped that the public will be generous, but some locals are worried by the cost and the small size of the park.

Will Mowat: "It's, it's expensive. I mean, the current budget is about 34 million [pounds] for the whole project. And it's quite short. It's less than a mile. So, the value for money aspect has to be looked at, but I think it's, it's going to be okay."

However, other locals feel positive. Bringing the countryside into Camden will allow both Londoners and tourists to see the city from a different angle. And that sounds like a perfect plan.

Charlotte Tansey: "Yeah, we love the Highline in New York, and are very excited that the same company are involved in this one, because it has a similar natural beauty, this landscape, in terms of the industrial spin on Camden, that I think more people should see. And there are so many tourists going through Camden every day, it'd be great for them to have a different viewpoint, just like the one in Manhattan." View Less