Tarmac & Asphalt on chalk ground on the northern slope of Portsdown Hill — the kind found across Horndean — 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 older terraced frontages near the village centre versus wider estate drives further out. 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 Horndean
Horndean grew up as a brewery town on the northern chalk slope of Portsdown Hill, and that history left a Victorian core around the old Gales brewery site alongside much later 20th-century estate expansion. Older terraced frontages near the village centre call for a different approach to the wider estate drives further out.