Petition calls for Whitchurch driving test centre closure rethink

The driving test centre in Whitchurch is set to close in April

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for a driving test centre to remain open.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) announced plans to close the Whitchurch test centre in Shropshire from 11 April.

Campaigners argue it will have a negative impact on the town and surrounding areas if it shuts.

Driving instructor Ron Ingall said people learning to drive in the area would be "distraught".

"They are struggling to pay for driving lessons now and if they have got to travel 14 or 20 miles to another test centre that is just going to add money to the price of the lessons because they are going to have to be longer," Mr Ingall, who has been an instructor for 47 years, said.

The next nearest test site, according to the DVSA, is in Crewe, which is 14 miles (23km) away.

It said 1,460 people used the test centre in the 2018-2019 financial year and 1,358 in 2019-2020.

In 2020-2021 the numbers fell to 370, reflecting the periods of suspension test centres faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The online petition to keep the centre open has already attracted more than 3,000 signatures and political figures are also calling for a rethink on the plans to close it.

Shropshire Council's leader, Lezley Picton, said it would add "to the inequality between cities and counties".

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said she was working with the council and campaigners to put together "sensible" alternate proposals which she said she hoped the DVSA would consider.

Mr Ingall said this was the third time the town had had to fight to keep its test centre.

"The young people will absolutely be distraught [if it closes]," Mr Ingall said. "It is going to be a big impact on the area."

The DVSA previously said it understood the closure may cause "an inconvenience" but has worked to ensure that there is no change in the number of tests provided to candidates.