AN accident blackspot on the B3006 will be resurfaced within the next few weeks in what could be the first of a number of road safety measures to be carried out.

Hampshire County Council has confirmed that resurfacing work on Stairs Hill at Empshott, which has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years, is "imminent".

The news coincides with a project appraisal which will be considered by the county council's roads and development sub-committee on Tuesday for further traffic calming measures on the 2 km stretch of road through the village between Greatham and Selborne.

Councillors will consider proposals for a £17,500 safety traffic calming package for Stairs Hill which includes new gateway signs at either end of the village with coloured road markings and new chevron and bend signs warning motorists of the sharp bends on the road.

Council spokeswoman Sarette Martin said that the committee will consider a project appraisal which was in keeping with the county's "primary aim" of improving safety on local roads.

She said: "This is obviously a place where there have been quite a few accidents. There have been eight injury accidents along that stretch of road in three calender years, including one fatality.

"A parish walkabout has been carried out with the parish council and number of measures were discussed."

The project appraisal's submission to the county council comes at a time when fears about the B3006 are increasingly raised.

The Selborne Traffic Action Group (STAG), which is pushing for a series of traffic calming measures along the length of the road, recently branded the B3006 "accident alley" after three serious accidents on the road within a week - one of them fatal.

Mother of two Joanne Matthews (34), of Test Close, Petersfield, died on June 30 as a result of her injuries when he car collided with a tree south of Stairs Hill near Snailing Lane two days earlier.

Last Wednesday Greatham parish and district councillors were the latest to express their concerns about the safety of the B3006, especially at Stairs Hill and to the south of it near to the scene of the fatal accident.

District councillor Judy Onslow explained that the resurfacing work was being carried out by the county council because of the slippery road surface motorists are confronted with when the road is wet.

However, she said that much more was needed before the road was made safer.

"How many more accidents do we have to have?" she asked.

"We have always got accidents along that road and somebody has already been killed along there. Of course I feel very sorry for the family, but does anyone else have to be killed before something is done?"

Council vice-chairman David Redman pointed out that a lot of motorists take dangerous chances while driving through the winding section of road.