How can a free view cost us £35 million?

AS A confirmed townie, a toddle around the local park with a flat white or an excursion to the comparatively open spaces of Hampstead Heath or Richmond Park was about the sum of my walks before all of this.

As the first lockdown kicked in, country dwellers began to rhapsodise about their ambles through the glorious fields and pathways – almost like they were partaking in some masquerade complete with shepherdesses’ crooks and milking pails.

Naturally, city dwellers started to compete, boasting about the joys of urban hikes, long walks along canal towpaths, little-known alleyways, or the empty streets of the City.

So I was delighted to learn that the Camden Highline, London’s version of New York’s raised walkway, is now going ahead.

The capital needs bold, rejuvenating projects for rundown areas and an elevated park is exactly that. But can someone explain why the budget, for what will be less than a mile of pathway, is £35 million?

So many brilliant ideas neglect to keep it simple and hit the skids with costs spiralling when things get too fancy. After all, the view over the city, which is a huge part of the attraction, comes for free.