Tarmac & Asphalt on low-lying peninsula ground reached from Portsmouth by ferry or a long road loop around the harbour — the kind found across Gosport — means hot-rolled asphalt compacted over a prepared sub-base into a single dense, flat surface. Locally, the driveway most often needed is one dealing with narrow terraced frontages typical of an old naval town, with real on-street parking pressure, and a low-lying harbour peninsula with genuine flood-risk and salt-air exposure on both the harbour and Solent sides. 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 Gosport
Gosport sits on its own low-lying peninsula, reached from Portsmouth by ferry or a long road loop around the harbour, and that position brings genuine flood-risk and salt-air exposure on both the harbour and Solent sides. The old naval town’s Victorian terraces are dense and narrow-fronted, with real on-street parking pressure, while later estate development spreads out further along the peninsula.
Coastal / flood note: a low-lying harbour peninsula with genuine flood-risk and salt-air exposure on both the harbour and Solent sides