For super heavy loads, use concrete eg runways, lorry parks, machine depots, open storage of bulk materials (somebody will use a front loader and remove the tarmac with whatever it is they are picking up) and anything where huge machines turning can rip up tarmac on a boiling hot day

For aesthetics and everything else, use tarmac eg residential, shopping centres and normal car parks.

As soon as you lay it, somebody (often you) will need to excavate a trench to lay drains, pipes, cables and so on. Infuriating but it will happen. Concrete with trenches will always look like a patchwork quilt but with tarmac you can put on a final coat fairly cheaply to cover up the evidence. Typically about £10 per square metre.

Make sure that the people laying it (tarmac especially) are reputable contractors who have done reliable work for somebody you know. It is very simple to lay tarmac cheaply that will last just long enough for your cheque to clear.

If they knock on your door and say they have just finished a big job locally and have some tarmac left and can do your drive cheaply, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING IT. This is a classic rip off.

Do NOT lay tarmac on top of concrete. We have just done this (April 2019) in Norwich and it was a mistake. My tarmac guy told me not to do it but I did not listen! It easily comes loose and there is gravel everywhere - my fault, not his. Sorry everybody.