The realistic price range in 2026
For most domestic jobs in Shropshire, resin bound surfacing laid over an existing sound base tends to fall somewhere around £45 to £75 per square metre. If the old surface has to come up and a new sub-base and tarmac or concrete layer go down first, you are usually looking at £90 to £150 per square metre all in.
Smaller areas cost more per square metre, not less. A 25m2 parking bay still needs the same setup, the same mixing equipment and the same day rate as a 90m2 driveway, so the fixed costs are spread thinner. Below about 20m2 many installers price the job as a whole rather than by the metre.
- Overlay onto sound tarmac or concrete: roughly £45 to £75 per m2
- Full excavation and new base plus resin: roughly £90 to £150 per m2
- Typical Shrewsbury semi driveway of 40m2: often £3,000 to £5,500 depending on the base
What actually drives the number up or down
The single biggest variable is what is already there. A twenty year old concrete drive with hairline cracking can often be overlaid after repair. A drive laid on soft ground that has sunk and holds water will need digging out, and that means muck away costs, which are not trivial once you factor in tipping charges.
Aggregate choice matters less than people expect but it does register. Standard UV stable dried aggregates sit at the lower end, while marble and specialist blends can add £5 to £10 per square metre. UV stable resin costs more than the cheaper BPA type, and it is worth every penny in the UK, because non UV stable resin ambers noticeably within a couple of years.
- Existing base condition and whether excavation is needed
- Access for barrows and mixing gear, which is tight on many terraced streets in Shrewsbury town centre
- Edgings, whether you need new kerbs or can use existing block edges
- Drainage, including any linear channel at the threshold
- Aggregate type and resin quality
- Depth, usually 15mm for footpaths, 18mm for domestic driveways
Drainage and planning in Shropshire
Properly laid resin bound is porous, which is why it usually avoids the planning permission requirement that applies to non permeable front gardens over five square metres. The catch is that porosity only helps if the base underneath drains too. Laying permeable resin over solid concrete simply moves the water to the edges.
Parts of Shropshire sit on heavy clay, and a few riverside areas of Shrewsbury have their own drainage quirks. A decent installer will look at where the water currently goes before quoting, and may recommend a permeable sub-base or a channel drain across the garage threshold. If nobody mentions drainage during a site visit, that is a warning sign.
Spotting a quote that is too good to be true
A price well under £40 per square metre generally means something is being left out. Common shortcuts are laying too thin, using an inadequate resin to aggregate ratio, skipping the primer on concrete, or overlaying a base that should have been dug out. The finish looks fine for the first summer and then loosens or cracks.
Ask for the quote to state the resin type, the depth in millimetres, the aggregate size and what is happening to the base. A written spec you can compare like for like is worth more than a headline price. Also ask to see a drive the installer laid three or four years ago rather than one from last month, because resin work reveals its quality with age.
