Revised scheme to be presented to planning committee on Thursday
James Corner Field Operations’ and vPPR’s revised plans to bring a version of New York’s High Line park to Camden are set to be given the go ahead this week.
Camden council’s planning officer has recommended the first phase of the Camden Highline scheme for approval when it is presented before councillors for a decision on Thursday evening.
If backed by the planning committee, the scheme would transform a 260m section of viaduct between Camden Gardens and the crossroad between Royal College Street and Camden Road into a public park.
This would stretch a further 1km east to York Way under the full three-phase masterplan, which was submitted for planning last May.
Landscape designers James Corner Field Operations, which worked on the original 2.3km-long New York High Line with Diller Scofidio & Renfro, won a design competition judged by architects Alison Brooks and Indy Johar for the Camden version in 2021.
The practice beat a high-profile shortlist for the much sought after job including Adjaye Associates, Zaha Hadid Architects, AHMM, Hawkins\Brown, BIG, LDA Design, AL_A, Weston Williamson and its former New York collaborators Diller Scofidio & Renfro.
Avondale Construction is being lined up as the main contractor on the scheme, with an official announcement to be made by the end of May.
The project team also includes engineer AKT, garden designer Piet Oudolf, sustainability consultant Atelier Ten, planning consultant Lichfields, and artist and curator Hew Locke.
The plans will include the installation of a stairway and lift at either end of the first phase stretch, along with the conversion of some of the viaduct’s railway arches into commercial space.
An existing doorway at the Royal College Street end of the route and a historic stairway leading to what used to be platform 4 at Camden Road Station would be reopened.
The entrance stairway at Camden Gardens would climb half the height of the viaduct, run through a railway arch over a new commercial unit and then rise through two more flights on the other side of the arch to the level of the park.
The park itself would consist of a decked walkway between 2.1m and 8.5m wide, flanked by trees and planting, with a small events space with tiered seating at the eastern end near Royal College Street.
Under revisions submitted in October due to complaints from some locals of overlooking, a “habitat pathway” which would have branched off the main route through a series of bird nesting sites has been removed, although the habitat will remain.
A privacy screen has been added to the stairway at Royal College Street, and a nearby balcony has been downsized to a Juliet balcony due to heritage concerns.
A local tenants residents association and a conservation area advisory committee have also complained about the risk of noise coming from the events space and called plans for the park to host events for up to 120 people “completely unacceptable”.
But the community-driven proposals have been mostly supported by locals, with the application receiving 346 letters of support and 57 objections.
The National Trust said the scheme is a “shining example of considerate, publicly guided, socially conscious planning that celebrates these vital benefits and aims to improve London’s infrastructure in an environmentally responsible way.
It added the project “embodies the values the National Trust strives to deliver every day, to address unequal access to nature, beauty and history and to bring benefits to both people and nature through positive change.
“As an organisation we believe these benefits should be for everyone, and a route that cuts right through the heart of north London providing new local green space to 20,000 people and the opportunity to bring 2.5 million users a year closer to nature is to be applauded.”
Camden’s planning officer said the plans were an “exciting opportunity to provide a unique, elevated public garden in the heart of the borough which would improve local access to public space”.
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