Tar and chip driveways in Frome

How much should I budget in Frome?

Guide prices below are for Frome, adjusted for the South West, where surfacing rates run about 3% above our UK midpoint.

Item	Guide price (inc VAT)
Tar and chip drive with a new sub-base	£46–£77 per m²
Example: 50 m² drive	£2,300–£3,850
Example: 100 m² drive	£4,650–£7,700
Example: 200 m² drive	£8,800–£14,700

As a 2026 guide in Frome, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £46–£77 per m² including VAT, so a 50 m² drive is roughly £2,300–£3,850. Guide only; the survey confirms a fixed price.

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
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

The build-up we price

Covering Frome

What applies in Frome. Smaller towns such as Frome are surveyed alongside nearby jobs in Somerset.

Postcodes: BA11
Area: Somerset
Nearest towns: Westbury (6 miles), Warminster (6 miles), Trowbridge (8 miles), Bath (10 miles)
Pricing: South West, about 3% above our UK midpoint
Kerb approvals: The highway authority

Close to Frome: Westbury, Warminster, Trowbridge, Bath, Keynsham.

Planning and kerb rules for Frome

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).

Your questions answered

Which Frome postcodes do you cover?

We cover Frome including BA11, and nearby Westbury, Warminster, Trowbridge.

Will someone visit before I get a fixed price in Frome?

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 approvals apply in Frome?

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 Frome?

As a 2026 guide in Frome, tar and chip driveway work runs at about £46–£77 per m² including VAT, so a 50 m² drive is roughly £2,300–£3,850. Edging, drainage and a dropped kerb are priced separately where needed.

Other work in Frome

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