Front garden to tarmac driveway in Essex

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

Rates in Essex follow the East of England, about 5% above our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
New black tarmac drive, full dig-out and new sub-base	£63–£100 per m²
Example: 20 m² drive	£1,400–£2,200
Example: 30 m² drive	£2,100–£3,300
Example: 45 m² drive	£2,850–£4,500

Towns we cover in Essex

Postcode areas: CB, CM, CO, DY, EN, RM, SS.

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
Lawn, hedge roots and topsoil removed
Sub-base and two tarmac courses, or porous asphalt
Water directed to a border, soakaway or channel
A planted strip kept where it helps drainage and looks

Rules in Essex

In England, a new hard surface over 5 m² in front of a house needs planning permission unless it is porous or drains to a lawn, border or soakaway within the property. If the job needs a dropped kerb, the highway authority (the county or unitary council) approves it before any work on the footway.