New driving test centre approved after closure

A council has approved plans for a new driving test centre, more than a month after one closed down in town.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) who conduct the tests, applied to convert an office at Pacific House in Imperial Way, Whitley, into a driving test centre in March.

The previous driving test centre in Elgar Road South, Reading closed last month and plans for 16 flats were approved by the government's planning inspectorate last year.

A letter from the DVSA states: "The facility at this site is required by DVSA to meet the local need for car driving tests and the government's objective to reduce driving test waiting times."

The plan shows the DVSA occupying Suite A of the building, which is on the ground floor.

The office will be staffed by five examiners and one manager. Each examiner can conduct up to seven tests per day, meaning 35 tests can be taken on a typical day.

There would also be the capacity to have a total of 12 examiners working from the site in the future.

The site provides 10 parking spaces, with five additional spaces being leased by the DVSA at the Holiday Inn, a six-minute walk from Pacific House.

The DVSA has argued it needs to address a "backlog" of tests after it predicted around a million tests had been missed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Its letter states: "The backlog of driving tests, coupled with increased demand, has subsequently meant that there has been a continued post-pandemic surge in people seeking to complete their driving tests.

"There are insufficient test slots to meet the demand."

It added: "Learners are often left unable to find an available test for months in advance and are resorting to booking tests in areas of the UK miles away from their home.

"The DVSA is therefore actively and urgently working to invest in new test centres to address the backlog."

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.