Meristem Design are teaming up with Barnet and Harrow Council, Thames Water, Metis, The Rivers Trust to deliver the second phase of Residential SuDS Planters as part of the Action for Silk Stream project, following the success and uptake of the first phase.
Phase 1
In January of this year, we installed SuDS Planters outside a range of homes across the Silk Stream catchment area in Barnet. The initiative responds to significant flood risk in the area, where over 1000 properties across Harrow and Barnet are estimated to be vulnerable to intense rainfall events.
The project is part of a £6 million Defra-funded Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Program that sets out to pilot rainwater management initiatives at community-level with the aim of improving flood resilience and raising awareness of sustainable water management.
Residential SuDS help to slow and manage surface water runoff, reducing pressure on the sewer system while also filtering pollutants from road and roof runoff.
What we did
We designed and fabricated timber SuDS Planters to fit seamlessly into the residents' homes. Each planter was connected directly to existing downpipes to capture and slow roof runoff before it enters the drainage system.
A tailored planting scheme was developed for each location, selected according to light levels and local climate to ensure long-term performance and resilience.
Phase 1 has been widely well received, with residents such as Sharon highlighting both the visual and functional benefits of the installations :
"I love my Suds planter, it's made beautifully & it was planted up by the installation crew, a few months on now the plants are flourishing and nobody would know that it's actually trying to serve a purpose." - Sharon, a Barnet resident
What's next?
Following the success of phase 1, phase 2 of the scheme has been confirmed with further timber SuDS planters set to be rolled out to more homes in the borough.
We're excited to be part of such an impactful, on-the-ground initiative directly delivers flood resilience for residents and we look forward to continuing this work across more London boroughs and residential spaces.
