How much does a tarmac driveway cost in Bath?

£45 to £85/m² supplied and laid, so a typical two-car drive totals £2,200 to £4,500. Larger areas cost less per metre. An edging course adds roughly £20 to £35 per linear metre.

How long before I can park on new tarmac?

Usually 48 hours for cars, longer in hot weather. Tarmac keeps curing for weeks, so avoid turning the steering while stationary for the first month.

Does tarmac need planning permission?

Tarmac is non-permeable, so more than 5m² of front garden needs planning permission unless rain drains to a lawn, border or soakaway. Drainage should be designed into the quote.

Can you tarmac over my old concrete drive?

Often yes, if the concrete is sound. Cracked or moving concrete must come out first, or the cracks will reflect through within a year or two.

Tarmac driveways in Bath

Tarmac is the best-value hard driveway surface: £45 to £85/m² installed in Bath, usually laid in two or three days, lasting 15 to 25 years. Ideal for larger drives, and a block-paving or stone-sett edge lifts the look well beyond the basic stereotype.

Get Quote Call 07426 793938 From £45/m² supplied & laid

Fresh black tarmac driveway with block paving edging on a brick semi

What is a tarmac driveway?

Tarmac (tarmacadam, or asphalt in modern specification) is crushed stone bound with bitumen, laid hot and machine-compacted into a smooth continuous surface. A residential drive gets two courses: a coarse base course for strength and a fine surface course for the finish. It is the same material as the road outside, engineered for exactly the traffic a driveway sees.

What it costs in Bath

£45 to £85/m² supplied and laid, with the per-metre price falling as the area grows, tarmac's economics shine on bigger drives. A 50m² two-car drive runs £2,200 to £4,500; a long village drive towards Bathampton or Saltford can come in well under the equivalent in blocks. Add roughly £20 to £35 per linear metre for a block-paving or sett edging course.

Where tarmac makes sense in Bath

Larger drives and shared accesses, the per-m² advantage compounds with area, and the seamless surface has no joints to maintain over long runs.
Quick turnarounds, most tarmac drives are excavated, based and surfaced in two to three days, and you can park on them within 48 hours.
Rural and village properties, where a simple, robust surface suits the setting and the budget.
Resurfacing an existing tarmac drive, if the base is sound, a fresh surface course is one of the cheapest driveway refreshes going.

Making tarmac look the part in Bath

Plain black tarmac can look municipal against period property. The fix is edging: a charcoal or brindle block-paving border, or granite-style setts, frames the drive, protects the vulnerable edges and costs a fraction of full paving. Red tarmac is an alternative that can suit brick properties. On the most sensitive central streets, gravel or sett-look paving is usually the more sympathetic choice.

Drainage and the planning rule

Tarmac is non-permeable, so paving more than 5m² of a front garden needs either planning permission or drainage to a lawn, border or soakaway. On Bath's sloping plots, falls and a channel drain at the low point matter as much as the surface itself, a good contractor designs this into the quote. Permeable alternatives that skip the rule: resin bound or permeable block paving.

Lifespan and care

15 to 25 years. Keep fuel and oil spills off it (they dissolve bitumen), avoid heavy point loads in heatwaves, and treat the edges kindly, most failures start at an unsupported edge. Resurfacing later in life is cheap and adds another decade.