What kind of money am I looking at to Tarmac a drive, it's roughly 3 Ford Focus length and the width with enough space to walk down either side of the cars
Properly done with the sub base and tarmac by a decent company you are looking at around £1500, dont forget you also need to apply to the council for permission as they are having a big crack down on non permeable front garden surfaces as they are one of the major causes of overload on the drainage systems
Well, if that is just a tarmac top-coat, its way over the odds.
However, if there is a sub-base to be installed, drainage, etc, whilst it's a bit on the hefty side, it may be the going rate in her area.
Unless the tarmac is permeable, you need to make provision for it to drain to somewhere suitable inside your site, otherwise you'll need to apply for planning permission and justify why you aren't using permeable paving.