Garden with an STP...help!
Christine576
Posts: 5
last year we moved to rural Norfolk and into a new build. Our small 30'x20' rectangular garden is all lawn with two little trees planted one either side of the plot. Half the lawn (and the bit that we look out onto from our living room) covers a sewage treatment plant (STP) and there are two large and two small manhole covers dotted about for easy and obvious access.
I'd like to do something with the garden, initially plant shrubs to hide the fencing and alter the layout but I'm concerned about roots damaging the STP. Has anyone experience and advice please? Would it be wise to stick to pots and tubs and avoid planting directly into the garden?
0
Posts
Large tubs eg half barrels on top of the manhole covers are the easiest way and you can plant in the other area of the lawn.
My next door neighbour has low raised veg beds over the STP that serves both our houses and a polytunnel over the soakaways. The main thing is to ensure the access for emptying it is easy (if you've not seen it done yet, it's a big fat hose pipe that jumps around a fair bit so you wouldn't want it having to go through flower beds) and don't plant big shrubs or trees over the soakaway bed or the roots could block it and it'll all back up
. You're not allowed permanent structures over any part of it, so no walls or concrete bases for sheds or greenhouses.
Reasonably shallow rooted things like herbaceous perennials, annual flowers and most veg and soft fruit shouldn't be a problem, as long as it's been installed properly, it should have at least a foot of 'cover' and probably more.
Last edited: 06 May 2017 19:19:46
Thank you both. I'll have to abandon my original plan but never mind.