HAMPSHIRE transport chiefs have scaled back controversial limits to road improvements.

Speed limits, traffic calming and other changes will only be introduced where there have been serious accidents in a move approved by Hampshire County Council.

But smaller councils will now be handed powers to install signs, bollards and other minor measures.

The cost-cutting proposals, which come into force on Wednesday (June 1), were amended after critics warned that roadworks would not be done until it was too late.

Town halls have cautiously welcomed the move but questioned whether they can afford to fund their own changes.

Transport boss Rob Humby said prioritising areas with proven safety issues will mean dwindling budgets are spent efficiently.

He said: “I completely understand that local communities value traffic calming and traffic management measures in towns and villages across Hampshire.

"Therefore, where a scheme is not prioritised by the county council on proven safety grounds, we have put in place a system for town and parish councils, and local residents’ groups, to fund some straightforward local traffic management enhancements themselves, which the county council will help to develop and implement on their behalf.

“This will give town and parish councils the opportunity to promote what they believe is right for their communities, and it is in line with what Hampshire residents told us in our public consultation last year, about how we need to be prioritising our own spending.”

The policy, to be reviewed annually, would help save the county council £14.7m by 2017.

Cllr Humby was appointed executive member for transport in March, two days before the plans were slated for approval. He deferred the decision by seven weeks to introduce measures for smaller councils.

Changes available to town, parish, district and borough councils will include new signs, speed limit reminders, bollards and informal crossings.

Conservative transport bosses at Fareham and Winchester councils have backed the move, but some Liberal Democrats raised concerns.

Cllr David Airey, Eastleigh Borough Council's cabinet member for transport and street scene, said: “I have a lot of sympathy with this approach in principle as it provides a more local approach to solving the problems. Safety, of course, must be the prime focus but where exactly will the funding come from?

"Borough and district councils also have experienced tough cuts in government grants and the costs of some of the schemes will be beyond what many town and parish councils can afford.”

There were 678 fatal or serious crashes in Hampshire in 2014, up by more than 100 on 2010. The number of lesser incidents has fallen by 400 to 2,417 in the same period.