I walked Birmingham's answer to New York's High Line and can see its potential

Many Brummies may walk past Digbeth’s Duddeston Viaduct without paying it much attention. The unused viaduct, which spans hundreds of metres across the ever-changing area, has been part of the scenery for more than a century.

But now it could be set to become one of the city’s most eye-catching attractions amid plans to transform it into a ‘sky park’ - similar to The High Line in New York. This project was part of major plans which included proposals such as new homes, bridges, a nightclub, student accommodation, public realm works and more for a site of just under 19 hectares in Digbeth.

With the city council recently confirming its approval of the scheme, I decided to pay Digbeth a visit and see the viaduct which could become a new landmark in the city. One thing to know about Duddeston Viaduct is that it was built around 170 years ago with the intention of it being used as a train line.

READ MORE: New York-style High Line attraction could be coming to Birmingham

However, tracks were never laid and it has remained untouched ever since. This is obvious as I begin to walk the length of the viaduct through the streets of Digbeth - at several points, the viaduct has been taken over by shrubs and other vegetation.

But as I catch glimpses of Birmingham’s skyline through its arches, it becomes easy to imagine the views the ‘sky park’ would provide across the surrounding city and the potential this project has. A council report had similarly described the reinvention of the viaduct as an opportunity to create a “vibrant public space”.

It added that it would be of benefit not only to the existing business and residential community but to the rest of the city centre, wider Birmingham and the West Midlands. As I continued my walk, I was also particularly struck by the extent of the changes that the project could bring to Digbeth.

At two points, there are gaps in the viaduct as it crosses over the traffic on both Liverpool Street and Great Barr Street. According to the report, new bridges would be required to bridge the missing “high level links” to enable the new park to stretch the entire length of the viaduct, creating the elevated public space from Adderley Street to Montague Street.

Not only that but the park itself could include a publicly accessible, raised pedestrian walkway, street furniture, play equipment and viewing platforms. “As a minimum, stepped access would be provided at the northern end of the viaduct connecting to a green space adjacent to the Grand Union Canal and at the southern end of Lower Trinity Street,” the report added.

The viaduct abruptly ends in Montague Street, engulfed by a blanket of trees at this point. During my walk, I felt I had seen the two sides of Digbeth - the graffiti-covered streets that feel a bit neglected and the ones that are home to the thriving and unique businesses that the area is known for.

Previously the industrial beating heart of Birmingham, it is now described as the city’s blossoming creative quarter. Disused buildings are being transformed across the area, from the BBC’s new broadcast centre at the former Typhoo tea factory to Steven Knight’s Digbeth Loc. Studios, which converted old Victorian-era buildings.

And now Duddeston Viaduct could soon be joining them as Birmingham’s historic district continues to rapidly change.