Tameside councillors have called on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to keep Hyde's driving test centre open - or provide another one in the borough.

Labour Hyde Werneth Councillor Shibley Alam spoke at Tameside’s latest full council meeting to propose a motion to support keeping the town’s driving test centre open in Hyde.

She urged all councillors to back the motion.

“The test centre in Hyde will be closing down in a matter of weeks and it has come as a huge shock to many of us,” she stated.

“There was no prior consultation with the council, the public, learner drivers or instructors. No reason has been provided to date and no alternative sites have been proposed for Tameside.

“The closure will leave many of our residents out of pocket, hitting the poorest the hardest. The test centre in Hyde is located in Werneth ward where I live, work and serve.”

She said she had personal links with the centre, had passed her own driving test there along with her relatives and her own children.

“It has been there for generations and is the only test centre in the whole of the borough and it has served residents well for decades.”

As previously reported the proposed closure of the centre will leave those wanting to take there tests having to travel to Buxton, Oldham or Stockport.

“Why should we suffer?” she questioned.

“We are already one of the poorest areas in the country suffering from high levels of deprivation. It also comes at a time when lessons had to come to a halt because of covid restrictions.”

She said driving instructors were already out of pocket as a result and there were long waiting times for driving tests.

“This rash decision must be reconsidered,” she said.

Cllr Alam said the council and the borough’s three MPs would all work with the DVSA to find an alternative site.

Last week we reported how Ashton MP Angela Rayner had recently met with local driving instructors and had written to Transport Minister Grant Schapps asking for him to at least delay the planned closure.

Driving instructors too have clubbed together in an appeal to save the centre, or relocate it elsewhere in Tameside, with more than 5,600 people backing a petition to keep it.

You can find the online petition at https://www.change.org/p/driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency-save-hyde-driving-test-centre 

Cllr Alam appealed at the council meeting to keep the test centre open. 

The motion was seconded by Labour councillor for Mossley Tafheen Sharif who pleaded with the DVSA ‘not to let our young people down.’

She stated learning to drive was a basic necessity and vital for young people to be able to secure jobs considering the borough’s geography.

Hyde Werneth Conservative councillor Phil Chadwick also supported the motion, saying he had passed his test at the centre.

Hyde Newton Labour councillor Peter Robinson, who stated he had passed his test in 1964 - before many council members were even born - added it was vital for Tameside to have its own testing centre.

Cllr Oliver Ryan said the council was waiting ‘by the phone’ to be contacted by the DVSA to help find another testing site in the borough.

The motion to retain the site was carried unanimously.

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