Driveways and patios in Braintree
Block paving, resin, tarmac and patios across Braintree, Bocking and Great Notley, from a family-run firm 16 miles away in Colchester. Pick your job on the price card for a guide figure.
What are you looking to have done?
Two quick questions and you'll see a guide price.
Which surface for your driveway?
Not sure? Pick the closest; Tom talks through the options on the survey.
Block paving: roughly what size?
A typical two-car drive is 40 to 50 m². A guess is fine; the free survey measures it properly.
Guide price
Pick a surface
Guide range. Larger areas come in lower per m²; the free survey fixes the price in writing.
Our typical rates per square metre
- Block paving: around £130
- Tumbled paving: around £150
- Resin bound: around £200
- Tarmac: around £130
- Imprinted concrete: around £130
- Gravel: priced on the phone
- Indian sandstone: around £180
- Porcelain: around £200
We lay driveways and patios across Braintree: block paving, resin bound, tarmac, imprinted concrete and gravel drives, Indian sandstone and porcelain patios, and garden landscaping, from Bocking and the town centre to Great Notley, Rayne and Cressing.
We're based in Colchester, about 16 miles away along the A12 and the A120, and Tom comes out to Braintree to measure up and quote in person. The price goes in writing before anything is dug up, and the guarantees are the same wherever we work: 10 years in writing on block paving, resin and patios, 5 years on tarmac and gravel.
Every drive goes down on a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base with proper edges and drainage falls, which matters on Braintree's heavy clay. See what's different about a drive in Braintree further down.
Driveways, patios and gardens across Braintree
Eight services, one team. Every job in Braintree starts with a free survey and a written quote, and every installation carries a written guarantee.
Block paving
10-year written guarantee
Herringbone, basketweave or stretcher bond on a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base, with concrete-haunched edges and a soldier-course border. Standard or tumbled blocks.
Block paving
Resin driveways
10-year written guarantee
Resin bound only, never bonded. UV-stable resin and natural aggregate hand-trowelled to 18mm over a solid base. Walk on it after 24 hours, park on it after 48.
Resin driveways
Patios
10-year written guarantee
Indian sandstone, porcelain, tumbled block paving or granite setts on a compacted hardcore base and semi-dry mortar bed, with falls away from the house. Steps and raised beds too.
Patios
Tarmac driveways
5-year written guarantee
Hot-mix asphalt laid as a binder course then a wearing course over MOT Type 1, with drainage falls and a block paving border if you want one. Usually done in one to two days.
Tarmac driveways
Imprinted concrete
Written guarantee
Pattern-imprinted concrete driveways and paths, poured in one piece and stamped in your pattern and colour, then sealed. No joints for weeds to take hold in.
Imprinted concrete
Gravel driveways
5-year written guarantee
Gravel held in a cellular grid over a weed membrane, so it stays off the road and drains properly. Pea gravel, slate chips or Cotswold stone with timber, brick or granite edging.
Gravel driveways
Cleaning and resealing
Priced on the survey
Block paving and patios pressure cleaned, re-sanded and resealed. Tarmac drives recoloured and resealed. The cheap way to make an old drive look new again.
Cleaning and resealing
Landscaping
Project guarantee
Paths, walls, steps, drainage, turf, artificial grass, sleeper raised beds, planting, fencing and decking. One team from clearance to the finished garden.
Landscaping
What's different about a drive in Braintree
A market town on heavy clay, from a medieval core to a 1990s garden village. Here's what's worth knowing before you plan a drive.
From our yard to yours
From Colchester to Braintree on the A120: About 16 miles · around half an hour without traffic
Braintree grew round a market chartered in 1199 and the wool trade that followed, where the Brain and the Blackwater run past the town. You can read it in the houses: timber-framed wool-trade houses with Georgian fronts on Bradford Street, Courtauld workers' cottages at Bocking Church Street, Victorian terraces off Rayne Road, mid-to-late 20th-century estates to the west, and the garden village at Great Notley from 1995.
The ground is heavy. The British Geological Survey describes chalky boulder clay over almost the whole district, giving "a heavy clay soil", with London Clay beneath that "needs to be well drained". So a drive here needs a proper dig-out, a compacted sub-base and somewhere for the rain to go: resin bound is permeable, block paving comes in fully permeable options, and we fit channel drains and soakaways where a drive needs them.
Good to know in Braintree
- Planning: Braintree District Council
- Paving more than 5 m² of a front garden needs permission only if the rain runs off onto the road. The town centre, Bradford Street, Bocking Church Street, Rayne and Cressing are conservation areas, so check with the council before changing a front there.
- Dropped kerbs: Essex Highways
- The kerb is part of the road, so you apply to Essex County Council through Essex Highways. The parking space must be at least 5 m deep and 2.5 m wide, a classified road needs planning permission first, and a rural verge still needs consent. We lay the drive to meet the new kerb.
- Where the rain goes
- No water from the drive may run onto the road. The council's draft flood risk assessment (October 2025) shows a surface-water flow path in north-west Braintree affecting homes off Rayne Road and Shalford Road, so drainage is worth talking about on the survey there.
Places we cover in and around Braintree
Not listed? Call 07427 694766 and ask.
Braintree town centreCM7 3
A medieval timber-framed core round the market, mixed with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian buildings.
- The town centre is a conservation area.
- Victorian workers' cottages line Victoria Street, Manor Street and Rayne Road; London Road has 19th-century and Arts and Crafts houses with front gardens.
Bradford StreetCM7 9
Timber-framed houses from the wool trade, many given Georgian fronts, running down to the bridge over the Blackwater.
- Most open straight onto the pavement, and people park on the street.
- Bradford Street is its own conservation area.
Bocking Church StreetCM7 5
Five pairs of Courtauld workers' cottages built in 1872, on river terrace gravels.
- Bocking Church Street is a conservation area.
West BraintreeCM7 2
Mostly mid-to-late 20th-century housing.
- The draft flood risk assessment shows a surface-water flow path affecting homes off Rayne Road and Shalford Road.
- The Local Plan's Towerlands and north-west Braintree sites add about 575 and 825 homes.
Great NotleyCM77 7
A garden village of about 2,000 homes, master-planned from 1995 for Countryside.
- Great Notley has no conservation area on the council's list.
- Land east of Great Notley is a Local Plan growth site.
Black NotleyCM77 8
Described by the council as a more historic village, south of the town.
- Black Notley has no conservation area on the council's list.
RayneCM77 6
Mixed, more historic housing along the Brain valley, west of the town.
- Rayne is a conservation area.
CressingCM77 8
Cottages from about 1500 and 16th-century farm groups, though most houses date from the 19th century on.
- Cressing is a conservation area, with low brick-and-flint walls and hedges.
- About 3.5 miles south-east of Braintree, off the B1018.
PanfieldCM7 5
On the west bank of the Pant, from Panfield Hall to 20th-century houses and bungalows.
- Panfield has no conservation area on the council's list.
1. Braintree town centre2. Bradford Street3. Bocking Church Street4. West Braintree5. Great Notley6. Black Notley7. Rayne8. Cressing9. PanfieldRecent work across Essex
Eight jobs from our own photos. Every one was laid by our team.
Block paving
Charcoal herringbone, buff chevron border
Resin driveways
Silver resin bound drive, charcoal edging
Patios
Grey block patio with steps
Block paving
Charcoal herringbone, curved border
Resin driveways
Golden resin, red brick border
Landscaping
Resin patio and artificial grass
Block paving
Interlocking diamond pattern in charcoal pavers
Block paving
Herringbone with drainage channel
Block paving, resin, tarmac, patios and landscaping, before and after.
What customers say
Verbatim from Google. Names as they appear on the review.
4.9 from 30 Google reviews5.0 from 90 on Yell5.0 from 16 on Facebook
Wayne Parker
December 2025 · Driveway and patio
Great job on my new driveway A great bunch of guys wouldn't hesitate to recommend Installed a new driveway and patio will have them around next time to do my pathway couldn't recommend them enough
Glyn Evans
July 2019 · Driveway
Tom and his team did a brilliant job. Competitively priced, turned up when they said they would, tailored the drive to our requirements, gave great advice and we are really happy with the end result. Always polite and friendly and I would recommend Tom to anybody.
Jake Talbot
March 2024 · Driveway
Tom came to quote for a new driveway, found him very friendly and approachable. We went ahead and the end result was superb. Hard working guys. Fully recommend.
Why Braintree homeowners choose First4Driveways
What customers mention in their reviews, and what we put in writing.
Tom quotes in person
He comes out to Braintree to measure up and talk it through. Nine Google reviewers mention him by name.
Guarantees in writing
10 years on block paving, resin and patios, 5 on tarmac and gravel, handed over with the job.
Built on a proper base
Compacted MOT Type 1, proper edges and drainage falls under every drive, which heavy clay needs.
Insured, tidy, on time
Public liability cover on every job. Reviewers mention sites cleared away and work done when promised.
Braintree questions
Straight answers for homeowners in Braintree.
Do you cover all of Braintree?
Yes: the town and the villages round it, from Bocking, Bradford Street and Bocking Church Street to Great Notley, Black Notley, Rayne, Cressing and Panfield. Not listed? Call and ask.
How far is Braintree from your base?
We're based in Colchester, about 16 miles away by the A12 and the A120: around half an hour without traffic. The survey and the written quote are free in Braintree, as they are everywhere we work.
Is Braintree's clay a problem for a new driveway?
Not if the base is right. Most of the district sits on chalky boulder clay, a heavy clay soil, so the dig-out, a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base and the drainage falls matter more than the surface on top. On a wet plot, a permeable surface or a soakaway helps, and Tom talks it through on the survey.
How much does a new driveway cost in Braintree?
The same as anywhere we work: around £130 per m² for block paving or tarmac, around £200 for resin bound, and larger areas come in lower per m². The price card gives you a guide in seconds.
Do I need planning permission for a new drive in Braintree?
Not usually. Paving more than 5 m² of a front garden needs permission only if the rainwater runs onto the road, and permeable block paving, resin bound and gravel let it drain. In a conservation area, such as the town centre, Bradford Street, Bocking Church Street, Rayne or Cressing, check with Braintree District Council first.
Can I get a dropped kerb for my Braintree driveway?
A dropped kerb is part of the road, so you apply to Essex County Council through Essex Highways. The parking space has to be at least 5 m deep and 2.5 m wide, a classified road needs planning permission first, and in the villages a grass verge still needs consent. We lay the drive to meet the new kerb.
Other areas we cover
Based in Colchester, working across Essex and Hertfordshire. These towns have their own pages.
Colchester
Our base. Every service, across the town and the villages around it.
Our base
Chelmsford
Block paving, resin driveways and patios across Chelmsford. Free survey and written quote.
Driveways in Chelmsford
Harlow
Block paving, resin driveways and patios across Harlow and Old Harlow. Free survey and written quote.
Driveways in Harlow
Hertford
Driveways, patios and landscaping across Hertford, Ware and the Hertfordshire villages around them.
Driveways in Hertford
St Albans
Block paving, resin driveways and patios across St Albans, Harpenden and the villages. Free survey and written quote.
Driveways in St Albans
Bishop's Stortford
About 36 miles from our Colchester base along the A120. Driveways, patios and landscaping with the same written guarantee.
Driveways in Bishop's Stortford
Southend
Block paving, resin driveways and patios from Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness. Free survey and written quote.
Driveways in Southend
Brentwood
About 37 miles down the A12. Driveways and patios across Brentwood, Shenfield, Hutton and Ingatestone.
Driveways in Brentwood
Stevenage
Block paving, resin driveways and patios from the Old Town to Great Ashby. Free survey and written quote.
Driveways in Stevenage
Cambridge
Driveways, patios and landscaping across Cambridge and its villages, with the same written guarantee.
Driveways in Cambridge
Also covering: Witham, Clacton-on-Sea, Maldon, Halstead, Basildon, Billericay, Wickford, Rayleigh, Saffron Walden, Burnham-on-Crouch and the villages between. Not listed? Call and ask.
Get a free quote
Let's talk about your drive or patio
First4Driveways is a family-run business based in Colchester. Tom comes out to quote every job in person, talks through the options and materials, and puts the price in writing before anything is dug up. Block paving, resin and patios carry a written 10-year workmanship guarantee; tarmac and gravel carry five years.
- Free survey and a written quote
- Written guarantee on every job
- Fully insured, public liability cover
- Family-run, based in Colchester
Need to talk now?
Call Tom directly
Start your free quote
Tell us about the drive or garden and we'll arrange a free survey.