Wickham is characterised by a Georgian and period market town centre, which shapes how Tarmac & Asphalt gets specified here: hot-rolled asphalt compacted over a prepared sub-base into a single dense, flat surface. The typical job in Wickham itself deals with heritage frontages around the square limiting material choice in a way a standard estate street doesn’t have to consider, and a conservation area across the historic market square. It suits larger driveways that can achieve a proper fall to a drainage point, and it is worth knowing that 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 Wickham
Wickham is a genuinely historic market town built around the River Meon and its Georgian and period market square, with a conservation area covering that centre limiting material choice in a way a standard estate street doesn’t have to consider. Frontages around the square need sympathetic treatment; further out, the specification is much more standard.
Planning note: a conservation area across the historic market square