A disused rail track in Peckham could be turned into London’s first elevated green space under plans to create a version of the New York High Line.
Student Nick Woodford’s proposals for the Peckham Coal Line would see a 1km-long park created between Queens Road Peckham and Peckham Rye stations — transforming the Rickett coal sidings which have been disused since the Fifties.
If his plans, which are at the drawing stages, are approved, Mr Woodford says stairs and a lift would be installed at Peckham Rye station giving the public access up to the sidings, which are next to the Overground’s track.
The park, up to three-and-a-half metres wide, would pass arts and music warehouse the Bussey Building, cross a new bridge over Consort Road, and then gradually descend before opening up to include Kirkwood Nature Reserve, finishing at Queens Road Peckham.
Mr Woodford, a 38-year-old mature architecture student at Central Saint Martins, said the plans could rival the High Line, an old freight track on Manhattan’s West Side that was turned into a public park in 2009. Similar projects include Paris’s Promenade plantée, which was completed in 1993.
The Coal Line would connect two areas of Peckham, provide extra green open space for walking and cycling, and give “a great view of London”, said Mr Woodford, who came up with the idea two years ago for a course project.
He added: “We have been speaking with residents and getting their reaction while making drawings and plans. It’s been very positive.
“As a Peckham resident, I wondered what could be done with the area around Peckham Rye and the disused tracks above. I realised the area could be opened up and used by the public and could run all the way towards Queens Road Peckham station.”
He said he would want the Coal Line to be a destination to visit, like the High Line, but also “a space where residents can, quite simply, get from A to B”.
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Mr Woodford will send his plans to National Rail, which owns 90 per cent of the space, to request they lease it to him on a long-term basis. If agreed, he will apply for Lottery and City Hall funding and seek private sponsors.
For more details, go to www.peckham coalline.strikingly.com
