Tar and chip driveways in Sittingbourne

What does a tar and chip driveway cost in Sittingbourne?

Guide prices below are for Sittingbourne, adjusted for the South East, where surfacing rates run about 10% above our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
Tar and chip drive with a new sub-base	£50–£82 per m²
Example: 50 m² drive	£2,500–£4,100
Example: 100 m² drive	£4,950–£8,250
Example: 200 m² drive	£9,400–£15,700

As a 2026 guide in Sittingbourne, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £50–£82 per m² including VAT, so a 200 m² drive is roughly £9,400–£15,700. Guide only; the survey confirms a fixed price.

The build-up we price

What the price covers

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
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

Covering Sittingbourne

The key facts for Sittingbourne. We reach Sittingbourne on our Kent survey days; Maidstone is 11 miles away.

Postcodes: ME10, ME9, ME11
Area: Kent
Nearest towns: Faversham (7 miles), Gillingham (9 miles), Chatham (9 miles), Rochester (10 miles)
Pricing: South East, about 10% above our UK midpoint
Kerb approvals: The highway authority

The same service is available in Faversham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, Maidstone.

Planning and kerb rules for Sittingbourne

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. Any new or widened crossing over the pavement needs approval from the highway authority (the county or unitary council).

Questions about tar and chip driveways in Sittingbourne

What approvals apply in Sittingbourne?

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. Dropped kerbs are approved by the highway authority (the county or unitary council).

Which Sittingbourne postcodes do you cover?

We cover Sittingbourne including ME10, ME9, ME11, and nearby Faversham, Gillingham, Chatham.

Can I get a free survey in Sittingbourne?

Yes for new surfacing such as drives, paths, private roads and car parks. Small repairs are often priced from photos; if a visit is needed for a repair-only job, we tell you any charge first.

How quickly can work start in Sittingbourne?

Often 1–3 days depending on base work. We book Sittingbourne surveys alongside other jobs in Kent, and give you dates once the specification is agreed.

Also in Sittingbourne

Send us a postcode, a rough size and a photo or two, and we'll come back with survey dates for Sittingbourne.