Member Article

Leading Camden businesses deliver £750k boost to Camden Highline

Camden Council, LabTech, the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, and Camden Town Unlimited have together invested £750k to support the design of the Camden Highline, a new park on the disused railway viaduct running from Camden Town to King’s Cross.

As Camden businesses prepare to reopen and welcome visitors back, the borough’s future has been given a significant boost thanks to new funding for the Camden Highline from leading local businesses. Their funding will support the Camden Highline as it progresses to the next phases of its design development and public engagement.

Those giving financial backing to the Highline are:

Camden Council

LabTech, curates destination landmarks internationally and the portfolio comprises of flexible working, residential, retail and food & beverage communities. The company owns and manages the majority of its 2.2 million sq ft real estate across Camden, Holborn and Kings Cross. Harnessing unique and independent concepts, LabTech delivers dynamic live/work/stay propositions across the globe. LabTech owns the world-famous Camden Market and will shortly open Hawley Wharf Camden, a five-acre canal-side retail and dining destination.

King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, which owns and manages the King’s Cross estate, 67-acres of outstanding architecture and vibrant culture, green spaces and Coal Drops Yard; London’s newest shopping district housed in reimagined industrial Victorian buildings.

Camden Town Unlimited, the business improvement district that represents over 300 Camden Town businesses, working towards making Camden Town a safer, cleaner, greener and more enjoyable place to work, do business, live in and visit.

The Camden Highline will not only reconnect local people to their town centres, but also become a visitor attraction in its own right, bringing Londoners and international visitors back to Camden. The Highline will also create a walking link between the commercial centres of Camden Town and King’s Cross.

Camden Highline Aerial View, East..jpg The Highline is expected to bring quantified benefits of £225m, including £16m of new visitor spending, £5.5m in health and wellbeing benefits and 316 new jobs. The appointed designers Field Operations have brought together a multidisciplinary team which includes newly emerging local talent and internationally experienced firms, working together to design the Camden Highline as a high-quality resident amenity and ground-breaking visitor’s destination.

Robert Evans, chief executive of the King’s Cross Estate, said: “King’s Cross is proud to support the High Line project and to help get this exciting concept one step closer to becoming a reality. The High Line will be a fabulous new community asset, to match people’s renewed appreciation for their green spaces and local area.”

Yaron Shahar, Chief Executive at LabTech, said: “I have long been a fan of the New York High Line and we at LabTech are proud to be supporting the UK iteration with its expected arrival in Camden in 2024. Alongside the health, wellbeing benefits and new jobs it will bring, the initiative will help to reinforce the work we continue to do as an organisation to invest in the Camden borough, serving not just the local community, but also acting as an attraction for visitors from further afield.”

Councillor Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for Investing in Communities, Culture & an Inclusive Economy said: “We were delighted to work with Camden Town Unlimited, LabTech, and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership to secure enough funding to progress the Camden High Line to the next stage - to create firm planning proposals for this transformational scheme. The High Line has the potential to be a significant new pedestrian route through the heart of Camden, creating a new green route and helping to boost our local economy.”

Martin Sagar, Chair of Camden Town Unlimited, said: “I’m hugely proud of the work Camden Town Unlimited has done over the last five years. We’ve always taken on big projects, but the High Line is the biggest yet. Helping it grow from an idea, to now being designed up by an incredible team has been one of the highlights of my time as Chair.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elizabeth Ellis .