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What a block paving quote should itemise
The Federation of Master Builders driveway guide of 21 May 2026 lists block paving from £25 per square metre [S5]. Prices vary by the job and the location, and QuoteZila does not set prices.
Last reviewed:A square metre is the surface, not the job
Block paving is a surface of concrete or clay units with joints, sitting on a constructed base, edged so the units cannot creep, and drained so water has somewhere to go. The Federation of Master Builders driveway guide of 21 May 2026 lists block paving from £25 per square metre [S5]. That is a starting rate on a driveway materials table, not a finished quote and not a Cheshire price. Prices vary by the job and the location, and QuoteZila does not set prices. A headline "per square metre" still collapses the layers underneath into one number. When you ask for quotes, give the area you measured, say whether cars will stand on it, and say whether it is the front garden, a rear patio, or a path. Those three are not the same permission question, and they are not the same construction.
The table is the lines to demand in writing. VAT registration, when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, is a tax rule and not a paving price [S4].
| Line | What a bare square metre leaves out |
|---|---|
| Measured area, and whether cars use it | A path and a drive are different loads |
| Front garden, rear patio, or path | Front-garden rules are not the rear-patio rules [S2] |
| Permeable blocks, or impermeable blocks with water taken to a border | The choice is a planning question on a front garden [S2] |
| Sub-base: open-graded stone, or a dense material full of fines | GOV.UK distinguishes the two [S1] |
| Geotextile, edging and jointing sand | Creep and weeds are specification items |
| Waste soil and where it goes | Digging out is not free because it was not mentioned |
| Dropped kerb, if vehicles will cross a pavement | A separate local-authority application [S2] |
| VAT | Included or not. Registration when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S4] |
Front gardens in England since October 2008
GOV.UK's guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens says that from 1 October 2008 the permitted development rights for paving a front garden with hardstanding changed, to reduce flooding and pollution of watercourses [S1]. The Planning Portal page on paving a front garden puts the practical test in one place: a new or replacement driveway of any size can avoid a planning application if it uses a permeable or porous surface, with gravel, permeable concrete block paving or porous asphalt given as examples, or if the rainwater is directed to a lawn or border to drain naturally [S2].
If the surface to be covered is more than five square metres, planning permission is needed for traditional impermeable driveways that do not provide for the water to run to a permeable area [S2]. The portal says these allowances apply to houses, not to flats and maisonettes, converted houses in the classes it lists, or other buildings [S2]. A planning condition, an Article 4 direction or another restriction can still remove the allowance [S2]. The guidance's old application fee and its eight-week sentence are not repeated here.
What the guidance says is under the blocks
GOV.UK says both permeable and impermeable drives use a sub-base so the ground can carry cars without rutting [S1]. Conventional surfacing often uses hardcore or a material contractors call MOT Type 1, which has fine material that stops water passing easily [S1]. Permeable and porous drives need materials that let water through and store some of it. Two examples named in the guidance are 4/20 and Type 3 sub-base, described as open graded, with space between larger pieces of stone [S1]. If rainwater goes to a rain garden or a soakaway, the guidance says the driveway construction can use traditional impermeable materials [S1]. Open graded material still has to be compacted to give a firm foundation [S1].
The same guidance says it is important to place a permeable fabric, a geotextile, at the base of the construction over the soil, to help stop the sub-base sinking and to help with weeds [S1]. About 150mm of sub-base is laid over the geotextile and compacted before the final surfacing [S1]. That dimension is a sentence from the national guidance, not a measurement of your garden. On very clayey soils that cannot soak up much water, the guidance says it is a wise precaution to include a pipe in the sub-base to the roof drains [S1]. A garden in Cheshire is not that soil merely because of the town name. If the site was contaminated and the shallow soils were designed to stop water soaking in, the guidance says you will have to connect the paved area to the drains and that a more specialist construction is required [S1]. Ask the firm to say which of these cases they think they are pricing, and do not let them guess the soil from the town name.
Excavating and compacting stay in the contractor's method. The guidance is there so you can see which lines belong on a quote.
The kerb is not the blocks
A dropped kerb is a lowered access in the pavement. The Planning Portal says it is required if you wish to drive over a pavement onto your property, and that it is illegal to do so without one [S2]. You make the application to your local authority [S2]. The portal also notes that fences, walls and gates, or a dropped kerb, may require planning permission even when the front-garden surface itself does not [S2]. Put the kerb in or out of the paving quote in writing. A firm that stops at the back of the pavement has not priced the crossing.
Patios that are not a front garden
Read the portal's limit in its own words: these rules only cover the front garden, and there are different rules for patios and driveways that are not part of a front garden [S2]. A block-paved sitting area behind a house in a back garden is a different description from a front drive. Say "rear patio, not a front garden" on the job if that is what you want, so nobody applies the five-square-metre test by habit. If the patio also means a new step, a wall or a change to a drain, ask the planning authority about those items rather than folding them into the block price [S2].
How to compare two paving quotes
Citizens Advice says a quote is an agreed price and an estimate is a rough guess [S3]. Get written quotes from at least three traders where you can, and do not rely on a verbal one [S3]. A much lower price may not be the same excavation, the same stone or the same edging [S3]. The quote should show a fixed total, a breakdown, how long it stays open, and whether VAT is included [S3].
Try to avoid a large deposit. If you cannot, Citizens Advice says not to agree to more than 25%, to get a receipt, and to ask about deposit protection [S3]. Ask to see insurance that lasts until the blocks are down [S3]. Some firms charge to come and measure. Ask first.
Lay the two quotes on the table above. If one includes an open-graded sub-base and a geotextile and the other says "supply and lay blocks" only, you do not yet have two prices for one job.
Cheshire plots are not a soil survey
QuoteZila is starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business [QZ5]. Measure the area, say whether cars will use it, and say where the rain should go. How many firms reply depends on who has joined [QZ5].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Up to five matched local businesses can send quotes [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Posting a job is not open yet
Trade pages: driveways and paving, landscapers and builders. Driveway cost, fencing cost and plumber cost are other guides to a written price.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Front garden in Crewe, for a car. I want permeable concrete block paving or a written reason for another surface, an open sub-base named, and the dropped kerb as its own line if you include it."
- "Rear patio in Nantwich, not a front garden, no vehicle. Please price blocks, edging and waste, and do not apply a front-garden rule unless you say why."
- "Path in Sandbach from the gate to the door. No car. I want the area measured by you and written down before you give a total."
Questions about block paving quotes
Why is a price per square metre hard to compare?
The Federation of Master Builders driveway guide of 21 May 2026 lists block paving from £25 per square metre. That rate is not the whole job and it is not a Cheshire price. Prices vary by the job and the location, and QuoteZila does not set prices. Two quotes can show the same area and still differ in dig depth, the stone under the blocks, edging, drainage and waste. GOV.UK's front-garden guidance describes a sub-base that is part of the construction, not a decorative extra.
When does a front garden in England need planning permission for paving?
From 1 October 2008, GOV.UK says permitted development for hardstanding on a front garden changed because of flooding and polluted runoff. The Planning Portal says you will not need planning permission if a new or replacement driveway of any size uses a permeable surface, such as gravel, permeable concrete block paving or porous asphalt, or if rainwater is directed to a lawn or border to drain naturally. If the area is more than five square metres, traditional impermeable surfacing that does not let water run to a permeable area needs planning permission.
Do those rules cover a rear patio?
The Planning Portal says the rules it sets out cover the front garden, and that there are different rules for patios and driveways that are not part of a front garden. A rear patio in block paving is not automatically the five-square-metre front-garden case. Say which part of the plot you mean. Flats and maisonettes are outside the householder allowances the portal describes, and an Article 4 direction can restrict a house as well.
What is a dropped kerb doing in a paving quote?
If you will drive across a pavement, the Planning Portal says a dropped kerb is required and that it is illegal to drive over the pavement without one. You apply to the local authority. That application is not the same document as the block price. Ask the paving firm whether their quote includes the kerb application or stops at your boundary. Fences, walls and gates can also be separate permission.
How should I read the deposit and the VAT?
Citizens Advice says avoid a deposit where you can. If you cannot, do not agree to more than 25%, get a receipt, and ask about protection if the firm stops trading. Some traders charge to prepare a quote. Ask before they visit. GOV.UK says VAT registration is required when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. Ask if the total includes VAT.
Does QuoteZila check the businesses?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
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Related pages
- Concrete Driveway Cost in Cheshire: What to Ask. Concrete on a Cheshire front garden can be a traditional slab or a permeable system. The planning test follows that split. Ask the quote which build it is.
- Driveway and Paving Cost UK: What Affects the Price. A new driveway can cost from £2,000, and from £33 per square metre, in the Federation of Master Builders guide of 21 May 2026. QuoteZila does not set prices.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila public pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms, customers.
- QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila coverage wording.
- S1: Guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permeable-surfacing-of-front-gardens-guidance/guidance-on-the-permeable-surfacing-of-front-gardens
- S2: Planning permission: paving your front garden, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/paving-your-front-garden/planning-permission
- S3: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S4: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S5: Costs for a new driveway in the UK, Federation of Master Builders. Accessed 2026-10-30. https://www.fmb.org.uk/resource/costs-for-a-new-driveway-in-the-uk-what-should-homeowners-budget-for.html