Front garden to tarmac driveway in the Scottish Borders

How much does a front garden driveway conversion cost in the Scottish Borders?

Rates in the Scottish Borders follow Scotland, about 2% below our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
New black tarmac drive, full dig-out and new sub-base	£59–£93 per m²
Example: 20 m² drive	£1,300–£2,050
Example: 30 m² drive	£1,950–£3,050
Example: 45 m² drive	£2,650–£4,200

Towns we cover in the Scottish Borders

Postcode areas: EH, TD.

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
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 the Scottish Borders

In Scotland, permitted development allows a hard surface between a house and a road only if it is porous or the water drains to a porous area within the property. Unlike England there is no 5 m² allowance, so it applies to any size. Conservation areas and the grounds of listed buildings have extra restrictions. The council, as roads authority, controls any new or widened access across a footway.