The catalyst for the project was a series of blogs written by Oliver O’Brien, a geographer at University College London which we're picked up by the local newspaper, Kentishtowner.

We’re an alliance of four non-profit organisations with separate boards but shared staff: Camden Town Unlimited, Euston Town, Camden Collective and the Camden Highline.

We began in 2006 as Camden Town Unlimited, a business improvement district, later joined by Euston Town, a similar organisation for Euston. Around 2009 we realised that our unique position and relationships meant we could lead ambitious social projects; using the BIDs as a launching platform for sister charities, first Camden Collective and now the Camden Highline.

Camden Collective supports start-up businesses by transforming vacant buildings into free work, retail and community spaces, and is where we cut our teeth on the use of vacant spaces. Find out more.

Like Collective, the Camden Highline is an independent charity. It will benefit local businesses alongside the community, which means we can donate our time to managing the project, but we’re too small to do it alone. Our job is to build the arguments, bring others in, explain the benefits to them and assemble the Camden Highliners; the alliance of backers, residents, businesses, funders and government who will make it happen.

We've completed feasibility work that shows the project is technically and financially possible, the cost is an achievable amount to raise, and there is a viable business model.

The project has received wide-ranging political and other support. 1,550+ people have been on a walking tour and 1,000+ people have donated to the project so far, including the Mayor of London, Camden Council, MHCLG hundreds of Camden businesses, individuals and various trusts and foundations.

Support for the Camden Highline has been adopted as Camden Council policy and Network Rail have issued draft terms for a lease on the infrastructure.

We held an international competition and appointed a team led by James Corner Field Operations, working with Kentish-town based firm vPPR. They have completed a masterplan for the whole park, and detailed design for the first section, from Camden Gardens to Royal College Street. These plans were granted planning consent in 2023.

Our aim is to raise the money to build the first section by the end of 2024, which would mean opening in 2027. The build will take around 18 months.

With the feasibility work, design and planning consent we’re ready to start building the Camden Highline, now we just need to raise the money to get started.

The first section will cost £14 million to build, with the following two sections costing about the same. It sounds like a lot at first glance, but world-class urban parks are expensive, and we’ve raised more than a million already!

From a mix of public and private funding, large and small, and trading income once the Highline is built. We don’t comment on individual funders support for the project but if they are happy to be recognised we acknowledge their support on the website.

Give or take a year or two, the infrastructure the Camden Highline would re-use has been disused for thirty years. Some time between May 1985 and November 1987 the four-track was changed to double-track, which coincided with the closing of Broad Street station in 1986, and/or the short-lived Freightliner Terminal at York Way.

Network Rail own the infrastructure the Camden Highline would re-use, and they may need it for rail use at an unknown point in the future to increase capacity on the North London Line. The project has passed business and technical clearance with Network Rail who have issued draft terms for a lease on the infrastructure the Highline will re-use. We wouldn’t put our time, money and ask you for support, if the project wasn't worthwhile!

The capacity isn’t needed and the costs are too high to justify the changes to the infrastructure, whereas other planned priority upgrades on the North London Line can be brought forward sooner. Importantly, the work that the Camden Highline does to the site would make it easier to re-instate the infrastructure for rail use in the future.

Network Rail has reviewed the need for the track bed and concluded that, at present, there is no passenger or freight scheme that requires the use of it. In addition, Transport for London has considered the long-term needs of the North London Line as part of a capacity study and did not note the requirement for use of the track bed in the Camden Road area. The construction of the Camden Highline will not prevent this part of the viaduct from being returned to operational use should it be required in the future.

In 2021 the London Rail Freight Strategy identified capacity and capability challenges which need to be addressed to realise long-term freight and passenger growth. Among its proposals is a ‘Camden Road Platform 3’ scheme, which if delivered would use part of the track bed which the Highline would occupy. It’s important to note that the strategy is presenting options, pre-development and unfunded. Its cost, feasibility, amount of local disruption, timescale for delivery, and business case have not been determined. Should Camden Road Platform 3 eventually go ahead, this would come after the 15-year break clause in the lease for the Camden Highline, so would not preclude the development of the Highline in the meantime.

Yes, the Highline will have step-free access at all four entrances. Find out more about the design here.