Tar and chip driveways in Wellingborough

Tar and chip driveway prices in Wellingborough

These Wellingborough guide prices reflect rates in the East Midlands, about 2% below our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
Tar and chip drive with a new sub-base	£44–£74 per m²
Example: 50 m² drive	£2,200–£3,700
Example: 100 m² drive	£4,400–£7,350
Example: 200 m² drive	£8,400–£13,950

As a 2026 guide in Wellingborough, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £44–£74 per m² including VAT, so a 200 m² drive is roughly £8,400–£13,950. Guide only; the survey confirms a fixed price.

Rules that apply in Wellingborough

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).

Covering Wellingborough

The key facts for Wellingborough. We reach Wellingborough on our Northamptonshire survey days; Northampton is 9 miles away.

Postcodes: NN8, NN29
Area: Northamptonshire
Nearest towns: Rushden (4 miles), Kettering (7 miles), Northampton (9 miles), Corby (13 miles)
Pricing: East Midlands, about 2% below our UK midpoint
Kerb approvals: The highway authority

The same service is available in Rushden, Kettering, Northampton, Corby, Daventry.

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.

Edges set with kerbs, setts or cobbles
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

Your questions answered

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

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 Wellingborough postcodes do you cover?

We cover Wellingborough including NN8, NN29, and nearby Rushden, Kettering, Northampton.

Can I get a free survey in Wellingborough?

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.

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

As a 2026 guide in Wellingborough, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £44–£74 per m² including VAT, so a 200 m² drive is roughly £8,400–£13,950. Edging, drainage and a dropped kerb are priced separately where needed.

Also in Wellingborough

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