A new driveway is a hard-wearing surface for parking, such as block paving, resin bound gravel, tarmac or gravel, laid on an excavated and compacted sub-base with edging and drainage designed to carry vehicle loads and handle rainwater.
If you have a new driveway on your list for a property in Acton, we can help from the first measurements to the final clean-up. For a typical home, plan for 3–7 days on site, though larger or more complex jobs take longer. We cover postcodes TW8, W3, W4 and W5 and nearby Chiswick, Shepherds Bush and Willesden, and every quote we send is fixed for the scope described in it.
- Guide price
- £5,200–£11,500 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 3–7 days on site
- Postcodes
- TW8, W3, W4, W5 and W12
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Greater London
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does a new driveway cost in Acton?
Here is how the guide price for a new driveway breaks down in Acton. We start from national figures and adjust for London, which comes out about 30% above the national guide. The resulting range, VAT included, is £5,200–£11,500, and a survey, at no cost to you, firms it up.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Acton |
|---|---|---|
| Gravel or tarmac | A typical 40–50m² drive in gravel on a grid, or tarmac with block edging. | £2,600–£6,500 |
| Block paving or resin bound | A typical 40–50m² drive with sub-base, edging and drainage. | £5,200–£11,500 |
| Large or premium driveway | Larger drives, natural stone, walls, steps or a new dropped kerb. | £10,500–£21,000 |
Your price depends mostly on:
- Surface: gravel, tarmac, block paving, resin or stone
- Drainage, soakaways and changes in level
- Edging, steps, walls and manhole adjustments
- Access for machinery and removal of spoil
What’s included?
- Survey of levels, drainage, manholes and access
- Edging kerbs or restraints to hold the surface in place
- Drainage channels or soakaway where needed
- Manhole covers raised or replaced to new levels
- New surface laid, compacted and finished
- Site cleared and waste removed
Homes in London
London's housing is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian terraces, often in yellow London stock brick, with Georgian terraces in central districts and mansion blocks across many inner areas. Outer boroughs have large belts of interwar semis, and there are extensive post-war council estates. Many houses have been split into flats, and conservation areas are widespread.
Terraces suit side-return extensions and rear dormer loft conversions; interwar semis commonly take hip-to-gable lofts. Shared party walls, restricted parking and conservation rules often shape the plans and the programme.
In Acton, as elsewhere in London, we take the building's age and construction into account before recommending anything, because both can change what is involved in a new driveway.
Permissions for a new driveway in Acton
Homes in Acton come under the regulations for England, summarised below. We don't rely on general rules alone: we confirm the position for your address with the council before a quote goes out.
In England, a new or replacement front-garden surface over 5 m² needs planning permission unless it is permeable or drains to a lawn or border within your property. A new dropped kerb needs consent from the council’s highways team, and access onto a classified road may need planning permission.
Building Regulations do not usually apply to driveways, but drainage must not discharge onto the road or a neighbour’s land.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
How does the job run?
Free site survey
First, someone visits your home in Acton to see the space, take measurements and note anything that could affect the work, such as access or the condition of what is there. There is no charge for this visit.
Price and scope agreed
After the survey we send a quote for a new driveway that fixes the price for the scope we've agreed. If you want to change materials or scope, we revise it in writing before anything is booked.
Dates and permissions
Before anyone starts, we confirm the programme in writing, check whether consents are required and arrange deliveries. If a skip or scaffolding on the road needs a permit, we apply for it.
Build and hand over
During the work we protect the areas around it and tidy up at the end of each day. Once complete, we check the finish, remove our materials and hand over paperwork such as building control sign-off where it applies.
How we work
Questions about a new driveway in Acton
Who do I deal with during the job?
One point of contact manages your project from survey to handover. They schedule the trades working under our contract, keep you updated on progress, and are the person to call with any question. You don't need to coordinate builders, electricians or decorators separately, because that is part of what we do.
How do you stop a driveway flooding?
A driveway stays dry when rainwater can drain away rather than pooling or running towards the house. Permeable surfaces such as resin bound gravel or permeable block paving let water soak through to the ground. Non-permeable surfaces need falls directing water to a channel drain, soakaway or garden border. We check levels and drainage during the survey and design the falls accordingly.
Is the price fixed?
Yes, for the specification we agree. Your written quote sets out exactly what is included at a fixed price. It only changes if you ask for something different, or if a problem the survey could not reasonably reveal later needs extra work. In either case we explain the change and confirm it in writing before going ahead.
Do I need planning permission for a driveway?
Whether a driveway needs planning permission depends on its size, surface and drainage, your home's location, whether it is listed or in a conservation area, and which UK nation you are in. In England, a new or replacement front driveway over 5m² needs permission unless it uses a permeable surface or drains to a lawn or border. We check the rules and design to suit.
What is a sub-base and why does it matter?
The sub-base is the layer of crushed, compacted stone beneath the driveway surface that spreads the weight of vehicles into the ground. Most driveway failures, such as sinking, rutting and loose blocks, come from a sub-base that is too thin or poorly compacted. We excavate to the right depth for your soil and compact the sub-base in layers before laying the surface.
Near Acton
Coverage for Acton spans TW8, W3, W4 and W5. Close by, Chiswick, Shepherds Bush and Willesden are covered too, and the rest of our UK-wide area follows the same survey-then-quote process from start to finish.