An ambitious plan to create London’s first elevated green space in the model of New York’s High Line has moved closer with a £10,000 council grant.
The Peckham Coal Line aims to transform disused coal sidings into a 1km park running between Queens Road Peckham and Peckham Rye stations.
The plans have been pioneered by a small team who have secured funding from City Hall as they seek £65,000 to fund a feasibility study and local consultations.
And nine days before the deadline to raise the money, Southwark Council has announced a £10,000 boost – to bring the project’s organisers to within £3,000 of their target.
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Nick Woodford, from the Peckham Coal Line team, said: “We are delighted that Southwark Council will be joining us on this exciting journey. Their support, advice and guidance will be invaluable as we create a new community-led approach to our shared open space.”
How the park could look if completedIf the plans are approved, they will see stairs and a lift installed at Peckham Rye station to give the public access to the sidings, which run adjacent to the Overground rail track.
The park would be up to three-and-a-half metres wide, and would pass the Bussey Building, an arts and music warehouse, as well as crossing a new bridge over Consort Road and descending into Kirkwood Nature Reserve before finishing at Queens Road Peckham.
How the park could look if completedMr Woodford has said the route would provide “great views of London”, prompting comparisons to the High Line park along Manhattan’s West Side which was completed in 2009.
How the park could look if completedSouthwark’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and New Homes, Mark Williams, said the council was supporting the project to help "bind a community".
"The Peckham Coal Line is an inspired, creative and community driven project that the council is very happy to support," he added.
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The project last month received backing from Mayor Boris Johnson when City Hall donated £10,000 towards it.
“The Peckham Coal Line is a fantastic example of how we can harness the enthusiasm of civic crowdfunding and work more directly with Londoners to improve their neighbourhoods,” he said at the time.
The team behind the project hopes to send the plans to Network Rail, which owns 90 per cent of the space, to request they lease it to them on a long-term basis. They will then seek funding from the National Lottery and private sponsors.
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