Southport was rocked when it was decided that the town's driving theory test centre would be leaving, with learner drivers having to trek to either Preston or Liverpool to do their test.
The town kept its practical centre but lost the theory centre in a wide-scale change to facilities available up and down the country last year. Now, less than 12 months later, there has been a motion submitted in a bid to have the facility brought back to the town.
Councillor Leo Evans has proposed that the centre be reinstated ahead of a full council meeting set to take place this week. The motion is set to be supported by Sefton Council, with the facility based on Gordon Street forced to shut its doors in September last year along with the centre in St Helens.
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Cllr Evans told the ECHO: " Southport theory test centre was closed in September last year alongside other centres in Blackpool, Oldham, Salford, St Helens and Wigan. I was first made aware of the issue after a local resident got in touch as they were struggling to book a test which they needed to progress in their career in the emergency services.
"The changes made by the DVSA mean that residents in Southport are having to travel to Liverpool or Preston to take their tests, instead of the site that was based on Leicester Street in the town centre.
"Considering most of the people taking the tests obviously cannot drive until they have passed, it means relying on public transport. What used to be a 20 minute round trip may not be up to two hours on the bus and trains. The DVSA recommend that in urban areas, candidates shouldn't have to travel any more than 45 minutes, but Southport residents are now having to travel longer.
"The reduction in the number of test centres in our area has also led to fewer test slots being available, particularly at the end of last year with a backlog of learners due to the pandemic, making it more and more difficult for learners to get a test slot.
The DVSA said ahead of the closure last year: "Because the new contract to run the theory test service has been awarded to more than one company, the location of many theory test centres will change from 6 September. We have tried to make decisions that are best for as many customers as possible. However, in some cases this means some people will now have to travel further, though the distance will have decreased in other cases.
"The increased number of theory test centres (from 180 to 202 across Great Britain) will result in a more even distribution of test centre locations and will make theory tests more accessible to those in remote areas of the country. In the new network all candidates should not have to travel more than 40 miles (rural) or 40 minutes (urban) to get to a test centre unless they choose to travel further."
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