Most Rowlands Castle properties sit on chalk and greensand ground on the Hampshire-Sussex border, so Tarmac & Asphalt here comes down to hot-rolled asphalt compacted over a prepared sub-base into a single dense, flat surface. Rowlands Castle’s own driveways are shaped by period cottage frontages needing sympathetic material choices, and a conservation area covering much of the brick-and-flint village centre. It is best suited to larger driveways that can achieve a proper fall to a drainage point, though standard tarmac is impermeable, so the drainage fall has to be built in at construction.
About Tarmac & Asphalt
Tarmac and asphalt driveways are formed from hot-rolled bitumen-bound aggregate, laid in one or two courses over a compacted stone sub-base and rolled while still hot to bond into a single dense, flat surface. It is quick to lay across a large area compared with unit-by-unit systems, copes well with sustained vehicle weight, and gives a classic, understated dark finish that suits both period and modern properties without competing with the architecture. Standard tarmac is not permeable, so correct falls and edge drainage need to be built in at construction rather than added afterward, and a sound, well-compacted sub-base is what actually determines how long the surface lasts rather than the tarmac layer alone.
Best suited to: larger driveways, properties wanting a low-fuss uniform finish, and sites that can achieve proper falls to a drainage point
Less suited to: sites with no viable drainage fall or where a permeable/SuDS-compliant surface is specifically wanted
Ground & property in Rowlands Castle
Rowlands Castle is a historic brick-and-flint village on the Hampshire-Sussex border, sitting on chalk and greensand ground with its own conservation area covering much of the centre. Period cottage frontages here need genuinely sympathetic material choices rather than the estate-standard specification found in the newer towns nearby.
Planning note: a conservation area covering much of the brick-and-flint village centre