Front garden to tarmac driveway in the West Midlands

How much does a front garden driveway conversion cost in the West Midlands?

Rates in the West Midlands follow the West Midlands, in line with our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
New black tarmac drive, full dig-out and new sub-base	£60–£95 per m²
Example: 20 m² drive	£1,300–£2,100
Example: 30 m² drive	£2,000–£3,150
Example: 45 m² drive	£2,700–£4,300

Towns we cover in the West Midlands

Postcode areas: B, CV, DY, WS, WV.

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 West Midlands

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).