Driveways and patios in Brentwood
Block paving, resin, tarmac and patios across Brentwood, Shenfield, Hutton and Ingatestone, straight down the A12 from our yard. Pick your job on the price card for a guide figure in 10 seconds.
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 Brentwood: block paving, resin bound, tarmac, imprinted concrete and gravel drives, Indian sandstone and porcelain patios, and garden landscaping, from the town centre, Warley and Shenfield to Hutton, Pilgrims Hatch, Ingatestone, Herongate and West Horndon.
We're based in Colchester, about 37 miles away on the A12, and we come out to Brentwood 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. See what's different about a drive in Brentwood further down, including the council's rule on paved front gardens.
Driveways, patios and gardens across Brentwood
Eight services, one team. Every job in Brentwood 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 Brentwood
A sandy ridge over clay, a council that wants drives to let the rain through, and some of Essex's worst surface-water flooding. Here's what's worth knowing before you plan a drive.
From our yard to yours
From Colchester to Brentwood on the A12: About 37 miles · about 45 minutes without traffic, almost all of it on the A12
Brentwood started as a clearing in the royal forest, "Burnt Wood" in 1176, and grew as a market and coaching town on the London road. The railway came in 1840, and the suburbs followed it: the Warley Mount estate, begun by the station before 1914, large inter-war houses on Priests Lane and Worrin Road in Shenfield, council estates at Pilgrims Hatch, and Hutton Mount's detached houses behind deep front gardens. In the town centre the council records front gardens on Shenfield Road lost to parking.
The town sits on a ridge. The British Geological Survey records Bagshot sand on the top, "characteristically free draining", over the Claygate beds and London Clay, with springs where the sand meets the clay; Ingatestone is on boulder clay. Brentwood's Local Plan says impermeable paving, "including on small surfaces such as front gardens and driveways, will be strongly resisted", so we'd normally lay resin bound or permeable block paving, which let the rain through across the whole drive.
Good to know in Brentwood
- Permeable by default
- Paving more than 5 m² of a front garden needs planning permission unless the water drains through or to a lawn or border. Where permission is needed, Brentwood's Local Plan (Policy BE05) says impermeable paving on front gardens and drives "will be strongly resisted".
- Dropped kerbs: Essex Highways
- Essex County Council gives consent for the kerb, and the space must be at least 5 m deep and 2.5 m wide. On a classified road, such as the A1023, A128, A129, B186 or B1002, you need planning permission from Brentwood Borough Council before you apply.
- Sand on the ridge, clay on the slopes
- Bagshot sand on the crown of the ridge drains freely; the Claygate beds and London Clay below it don't, and the council's drainage plan calls the borough's soils mostly "slowly permeable". A soakage test on the survey decides whether a soakaway will work.
- Surface water: ten problem areas
- Essex's drainage plan ranks Brentwood third in the county for homes at risk of surface-water flooding, and names ten critical drainage areas. Shenfield has the most homes at risk, round Park Way, Priests Lane and Friar's Avenue.
Places we cover in and around Brentwood
Not listed? Call 01277 564074 and ask.
Town centreCM15 8
A planned medieval high street, mostly rebuilt after 1945, with Victorian streets running down towards the station.
- The Brentwood Town Centre conservation area was formed in 2000 from three older ones.
- The council's appraisal notes front gardens on Shenfield Road lost to parking.
WarleyCM13 3
The Warley Mount estate, begun by the station before 1914, the old barracks site and the council's 1960s Warley estate.
- No conservation area covers Warley itself; Great Warley village, just south, has one.
- The council's drainage plan maps a flow path down Crescent Road to the railway.
ShenfieldCM15 8
Grew with the railway: large inter-war houses on Priests Lane and Worrin Road, and high-quality housing on the old Shenfield Place estate.
- No conservation area covers Shenfield.
- It has the most homes at risk of the borough's ten critical drainage areas: 124 in a 1-in-100-year storm, round Park Way, Priests Lane, Friar's Avenue and Hunter Avenue.
Hutton and Hutton MountCM13 1
Joined Brentwood in 1934; post-war estates round the old village, and Hutton Mount's large detached houses on large plots.
- Hutton Village has been a conservation area since 1986.
- Hutton Mount's estate company has objected to building over its covenanted 35 ft building line, so check with it before changing a frontage there.
- The drainage plan names Surman Crescent, Wash Road and Edwards Way.
Pilgrims Hatch and Brook StreetCM15 9
Building at Bishop's Hall from about 1902, then a good deal more, mainly smaller houses, including the council estates at Danes Way and Bishop's Hall.
- Highwood Hospital, on the Ongar Road, is a conservation area.
- In Brook Street the drainage plan names the Spital Lane culvert and Talbrook.
IngatestoneCM4 9
The borough's largest village: a Georgian coaching high street, then post-war growth along the roads out of it.
- Two conservation areas: the High Street and Station Lane, where the council warns that paved and tarmacked front gardens undermine the street.
- On boulder clay; the drainage plan names Whadden Chase, Bell Mead, The Furlongs and Poplar Close.
Herongate and IngraveCM13 3
Weatherboarded cottages round the greens at Herongate, and suburban houses that have filled Ingrave between the A128 and Cricketers Lane.
- Herongate has been a conservation area since 1975.
- Both villages front the A128, a classified road, so a new access there needs planning permission.
West HorndonCM13 3
A railway village that grew after Rotary Hoes opened its factory in 1938, with more houses built through the 1950s.
- The Local Plan allocates about 580 new homes on the industrial estate.
- One of the drainage plan's three hotspots, with water deepest against the railway embankment.
1. Town centre2. Warley3. Shenfield4. Hutton and Hutton Mount5. Pilgrims Hatch and Brook Street6. Ingatestone7. Herongate and Ingrave8. West HorndonRecent work from our own team
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 our Google listings. Names as they appear on the review.
4.9 from 30 Google reviews5.0 from 90 on Yell5.0 from 16 on Facebook
Richard Parker
December 2023 · Driveway
This was a big task on a long wide driveway. The team were careful in the extensive preparatory work, not rushing any part of the process, and working steadily each day. The team leader was responsive to questions and clarified what they were doing at each stage and why. They obviously were concerned to do the work to a high standard. We are delighted with the result.
Abas Kociaj
January 2025 · Drive and patio
I was looking for a company to replace my drive and patio my friend recommended Tom and his company who had done he's around 10 years ago and still looks brilliant so I decided to go with them and they fulfilled my best expectations highly recommend great service 10/10
Scott
April 2025 · Driveway
Highly recommend First 4 Driveways. Done a fantastic job on my driveway. Site was left spotless and the guys on site were brilliant. Polite and punctual and worth every penny! Top work!
Why Brentwood homeowners choose First4Driveways
What customers mention in their reviews, and what we put in writing.
Quoted in person
We come out to measure up and talk it through, and the price goes in writing before anything is dug up.
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.
Insured, tidy, on time
Public liability cover on every job. Reviewers mention sites left spotless and work done when promised.
Brentwood questions
Straight answers for homeowners in Brentwood.
Do you cover all of Brentwood?
Yes: the town and the villages round it, from the centre, Warley, Shenfield, Hutton and Pilgrims Hatch to Ingatestone, Doddinghurst, Herongate, Ingrave and West Horndon, and on to Billericay. Not listed? Call and ask.
Do I need planning permission for a new drive in Brentwood?
Not usually, as long as the drive lets the rain through or drains to a lawn or border; paving more than 5 m² of a front garden with a surface that sheds water onto the road needs permission. Where permission is needed, Brentwood's Local Plan says impermeable paving "will be strongly resisted". A new access onto a classified road such as the A1023, A128 or A129 needs permission too.
Who lowers the kerb for a new drive in Brentwood?
Essex County Council (Essex Highways). You apply for consent, then a suitably qualified contractor books the road space and builds it. The space must be at least 5 m deep and 2.5 m wide, and no water may run from the drive onto the road. On a classified road you need planning permission from Brentwood Borough Council first. We lay the drive to meet the kerb.
Will a soakaway work for my Brentwood drive?
It depends where you are on the ridge. The Bagshot sand on top drains freely, but the Claygate beds and London Clay on the slopes, and the boulder clay at Ingatestone, don't. We look at the ground on the survey; a permeable surface that spreads the water over the whole drive is usually the safer choice.
How much does a new driveway cost in Brentwood?
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.
Which driveway suits Brentwood best?
For most homes, resin bound or permeable block paving: both let the rain soak through, which is what Brentwood's Local Plan asks for. Tarmac and imprinted concrete need falls to a border or a drain.
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
Braintree
About 16 miles from our Colchester base. Driveways, patios and landscaping with the same written guarantee.
Driveways in Braintree
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
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.