Gillespies Road was sealed in 2003, jointly funded by Bridestowe and Dorset Council, however the narrow entrance and regular truck and bus traffic has caused safety concerns and resulted in some deterioration of several sections.

Bridestowe managing director Robert Ravens said the council was required to maintain the road "to an appropriate standard" as part of the funding deal, but he believed this was not happening.

"The competency of the road is questionable for the volume of traffic it receives. There are gravel trucks, forestry trucks and the tourist visitors, that road is punished by traffic," he said.

"It needs to be widened at the intersection with Golconda Road and it needs to be generally upgraded to cope with this heavy volume of traffic.

"It's been on the agenda for too many years now, the council has to address the issue. We have brought it to them formally on a number of occasions."

Neighbour Carol Stothard has seen the growth in visitors since moving next door 20 years ago. She said cars regularly queued over the road, preventing her from quickly exiting her property on her way to Scottsdale.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"I worry, especially with the fire season, if there's an emergency then I'd never be able to get out," she said.

"I'm 81. I've had a stroke. If I needed to get out to the doctors or the hospital, those few minutes could cost me my life.

"It's going to increase even more because they council has approved more units for the tourists. I'm a ratepayer as well, surely I should be looked after."

Ms Stothard said her concerns would be allayed if lines were painted on the road to create a gap for her to exit her property through the queued visitor cars.

Dorset Council spent $50,000 on edges, drainage and patchwork last year, and will apply for a federal funding grant to widen the road.

Mayor Greg Howard said while the council did not normally seek a contribution from businesses for such projects, the road upgrade would be "purely to service a single business" in this case.

"It's a situation that no one envisaged. No one expected 60,000-70,000 people per year to go to the lavender farm," he said.

"They've developed a tourist operation that has grown probably beyond their own expectations."

Cr Howard said the tourist traffic would most likely allow Ms Stothard through if she "was a bit bolder" with her driving.