Tar and chip driveways in Tonbridge

How much should I budget in Tonbridge?

These Tonbridge guide prices reflect rates in the South East, 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 Tonbridge, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £50–£82 per m² including VAT, so a 50 m² drive is roughly £2,500–£4,100. Guide only; the survey confirms a fixed price.

Layer by layer

What we do on a tar and chip driveway

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
Edges set with kerbs, setts or cobbles
Chippings spread straight onto the binder
Rolled to bed the stones in
Loose surplus chippings swept up after a few days

Covering Tonbridge

The key facts for Tonbridge. Tonbridge sits 12 miles from Maidstone, within our regular Kent cover.

Postcodes: TN9, TN11, TN10
Area: Kent
Nearest towns: Tunbridge Wells (4 miles), Sevenoaks (6 miles), Crowborough (10 miles), Maidstone (12 miles)
Pricing: South East, about 10% above our UK midpoint
Kerb approvals: The highway authority

The same service is available in Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Crowborough, Maidstone, Swanley.

Planning and kerb rules for Tonbridge

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).

Questions about tar and chip driveways in Tonbridge

Is the survey in Tonbridge free?

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.

Do I need permission for a tar and chip driveway in Tonbridge?

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).

What is the price of a tar and chip driveway in Tonbridge?

As a 2026 guide in Tonbridge, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £50–£82 per m² including VAT, so a 50 m² drive is roughly £2,500–£4,100. Edging, drainage and a dropped kerb are priced separately where needed.

How long will the work take at my Tonbridge property?

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

More we do in Tonbridge

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