THERE is no exceptional reason for Wisbech driving test centre to remain open and the reaction from the community has been no different from any other town losing the service, says the Driving Standards Agency. The agency commissioned the report, by deput

THERE is no exceptional reason for Wisbech driving test centre to remain open and the reaction from the community has been no different from any other town losing the service, says the Driving Standards Agency.

The agency commissioned the report, by deputy chief operating officer Terry Triggs, in which he dismisses many of the claims made by opponents of the proposed closure due to take place in March.

He dismissed claims that candidates would incur increased learning costs because they would need to travel to King's Lynn for lessons.

Mr Triggs, said: "I would expect candidates from Wisbech to learn within their locality as they do now and only attend pre-test familiarisation in King's Lynn."

Regarding instructor costs, the report says mileage driven during lessons will be the same regardless of the locality.

Mr Triggs maintains closure of the Wisbech centre will divert some demand to Peterborough. However, it is not thought that the additional candidates going to King's Lynn will cause any traffic problems at the test centre.

The fact that Wisbech is still operational has prevented assessment of any operational difficulties as a result of its closure but Mr Triggs says he has no reason to believe there will be any.

The poor standard of facilities at the Wisbech centre are well below what customers should rightly expect, says the report.

"The Agency could be criticised as the facilities do not provide for candidate toilets, no disabled facilities, poor site access, and limited on site parking as a result of which we are unable to conduct the reverse bay park exercise," says the report.

Steve Barclay, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for North East Cambs, says closing the centre will have a negative impact on the town and will not result in significant savings for the DSA.

He said: "I think there is a sense in Wisbech that the Government has turned its back on the town and is stripping things out to go to places such as King's Lynn, Peterborough and Cambridge.