Furious driving instructors across Angus will unite in protest tonight against the impending closure of test centres in Arbroath and Forfar.
The private meeting in the Rosely Country House Hotel in Arbroath will be followed by a public protest outside the town’s test centre tomorrow after the Driving Standards Agency caused outrage by announcing plans to close both centres at the end of next month with no public consultation.
The proposals will herald a new “multi purpose test centre” in Dundee, meaning the county will be left with just a single test centre in Montrose.
Tonight’s meeting has been organised by local driving instructors Les Wells and June Clark, who have invited councillors Peter Nield and David Fairweather to attend. Angus MP Mike Weir, a supporter of the test centres, is unable to attend due to Westminster commitments but the pair have yet to receive a response from his Holyrood colleague Andrew Welsh.
Mr Wells said, “We have to get everybody together because individually there’s not much we can do about it. But, unified, we could find that we might be able to do something.
“If the test centre goes, it will be a massive loss to Arbroath as we’re now going to have to take our pupils to either Montrose or Dundee. They won’t be able to take hour long lessons any more, because too much time would be lost just getting to either of these places.
“We’re now looking at an hour and half long lesson to go to Montrose or two hours for Dundee which will obviously cost people more.”Public complaintsCouncillor Fairweather, who represents Arbroath West and Letham on Angus Council, said he had already received complaints from members of the public about the impending closures.
He added, “One woman has told me her daughter has already had two tests cancelled in Arbroath because of extreme weather but has now been told she could be looking at March to get one in Dundee. It’s a ridiculous not to mention very expensive state of affairs.”
A spokesman from the DSA insisted that the existing test centres in Arbroath and Forfar are simply “outstations” of the Dundee base and that officials decided no consultation was necessary due to their supposed proximity to the city.
He said, “DSA relies for income on the fees we receive from our customers. We have a duty to spend that money responsibly while maintaining a good level of service.
“Arbroath and Forfar test centres are both outstations of Dundee test centre, which is being replaced with a new multi-purpose test centre (MPTC) in Dundee at the end of February. DSA is closing the outstations at Arbroath and Forfar to make the best use of the new facilities at Dundee.
“Arbroath is 19 miles from Dundee, and Forfar 15 miles. DSA’s stated travel distance criteria based on density of population for the area is 30 miles, so no consultation was necessary.”
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