Front garden to tarmac driveway in Bristol

How much does a front garden driveway conversion cost in Bristol?

Rates in Bristol follow the South West, about 3% above our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
New black tarmac drive, full dig-out and new sub-base	£62–£98 per m²
Example: 20 m² drive	£1,350–£2,150
Example: 30 m² drive	£2,050–£3,250
Example: 45 m² drive	£2,800–£4,400

Towns we cover in Bristol

Bristol

Postcode areas: BS.

What is included?

A front garden conversion turns lawn or planting into a parking space: the ground is excavated, a stone sub-base laid, tarmac surfaced on top, and a lowered kerb arranged so a car can cross the pavement legally.

Check the space: length, width and gate posts for a car
Highway authority dropped kerb application guided or handled for you
Sub-base and two tarmac courses, or porous asphalt
Kerbs or blocks as edge restraint
Water directed to a border, soakaway or channel
A planted strip kept where it helps drainage and looks

Rules in Bristol

In England, householder permitted development (Class F of the 2015 General Permitted Development Order) lets you lay a hard surface in front of a house without planning permission if it is porous, or if the rainwater is directed to a permeable area within the property. If the area is more than 5 m² and neither applies, you need permission. Standard dense tarmac is not porous, so a dense tarmac drive needs a lawn, border, channel to a soakaway or other permeable route for its water. A vehicle crossing over the footway is a separate approval, from the highway authority (the county or unitary council).

How it is built