Oswestry driving test centre closure fears

The DVSA has insisted that Oswestry’s driving test centre is safe from the axe amid concern from local instructors that the town’s site could be under threat.

The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency(DVSA) say there are no plans to close the facility on Maesbury Road Industrial Estate, but instructors say rumours and informal talks suggest that the centre could be under threat.

Now the instructors say they’re on the alert to avoid any possible threat to services in the town, which could result in learners being sent to Wrexham or Shrewsbury to take their tests.

“A lot of pupils who take tests in Oswestry are from rural areas and they’re not used to driving round towns and cities,” said Gareth Jones of Oswestry and District Driving Instructor Association, which has around 20 members in the area.

“They’ve tried closing Oswestry a couple of times over the years but instructors in Oswestry have bound together to fight off any closures.”

The group believes they may be forced to seek alternative premises as a cost-cutting measure in order protect services in the area. Currently, the Maesbury Road premises is leased by the DVSA at commercial rates.

“We’ve tried everything we can think of to find out what the situation is, and we’ve got to the point where we need to get somebody else involved in this that might be able to help, and that’s where asking for the support of the town council comes in,” he added.

“We want to be pro-active about it.”

The Oswestry centre is classed as a part-time facility, with examiners sent from Shrewsbury and Wrexham to conduct driving tests several times per week.

In response to an enquiry from the Local Democracy Service this week, the DVSA said there were no plans to close the centre in Oswestry, saying: “I can confirm that Oswestry DTC is not closing.”

A spokesperson from Oswestry Town Council said they would support the driving instructor’s campaign if any closure was mooted in future.

“It’s really important that facilities such as the driving test centre remain in Oswestry and we would offer any support we could to the Oswestry and District Driving Instructor Association should it become necessary,” they said.

Elsewhere in north Shropshire, a long campaign has been fought to keep a test centre in Whitchurch after the facility at Dodington shut in 2022.

Permission had been granted to operate it from the Civic Centre, but that has since been closed to the public amid concerns over the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, better known as RAAC.