The realistic price range
As a rough guide across the UK in 2026, resin bound tends to land between around 40 and 70 pounds per square metre when it is laid straight onto a sound existing base. If a new base has to be built up from scratch, you are more often looking at 90 to 130 pounds per square metre once groundwork, edgings and disposal are included.
The resin itself is only part of it. A large slice of any honest quote is the preparation, the sub-base and the labour to get a flat, well drained surface that will not crack or puddle.
- Overlay onto sound concrete or tarmac: roughly 40 to 70 per m2
- Full excavation and new sub-base: roughly 90 to 130 per m2
- Smaller jobs under about 30 m2 often carry a higher rate per m2
What actually moves the price
The biggest single factor is what sits beneath the resin. A driveway that already has solid concrete or tarmac in good condition can often be overlaid, which keeps costs down. A base that is cracked, sinking or non existent needs digging out and rebuilding, and that groundwork is where the money goes.
- Condition of the existing base and whether it can be reused
- Access for machinery and how far spoil has to be barrowed
- Depth of stone needed for soft ground, common on rural Shropshire plots
- Aggregate choice, as some imported stones cost more than UK gravels
- Drainage works to meet SuDS rules on new impermeable areas
Why cheap quotes are often not the bargain they seem
A very low per square metre price usually means a corner is being cut somewhere you cannot see. Common ones are a resin to aggregate ratio that is too lean, a sub-base that is too shallow, or UV unstable resin that yellows within a couple of years.
It is worth asking any installer to put the build up in writing: the sub-base depth, the resin type and the guarantee. A proper resin bound surface laid on a good base should give you fifteen years or more with very little upkeep, so a slightly higher upfront figure often works out cheaper over its life.
Getting an accurate figure for your own drive
No honest installer can give you a firm price per square metre without seeing the site, because the base is the unknown. A site visit lets us check what is already there, test how the ground drains and measure the area properly, including any awkward curves or steps.
Around Shrewsbury and the wider Shropshire area we see a lot of older concrete drives that can be overlaid and a fair number of rural properties on soft ground that need more groundwork. Both are workable, but they sit at very different ends of the price range.
