Tar and chip driveways in County Durham

How much does a tar and chip driveway cost in County Durham?

Rates in County Durham follow the North East, about 7% below our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
Tar and chip drive with a new sub-base	£42–£70 per m²
Example: 50 m² drive	£2,100–£3,500
Example: 100 m² drive	£4,200–£7,000
Example: 200 m² drive	£7,950–£13,250

Towns we cover in County Durham

Postcode areas: DH, DL, SR, TS.

What is included?

Tar and chip, also called surface dressing, is a layer of bitumen sprayed onto a prepared base and immediately covered with stone chippings, which are rolled in so the surface looks like gravel but behaves like a bound drive.

Base prepared: new MOT Type 1 sub-base, or an existing sound tarmac or stone base
Hot bitumen or emulsion sprayed evenly
Chippings spread straight onto the binder
Rolled to bed the stones in
Loose surplus chippings swept up after a few days
Second coat where a double dressing is specified

Rules in County Durham

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. If the job needs a dropped kerb, the highway authority (the county or unitary council) approves it before any work on the footway.