Fears have been raised that the driving test centre in Reading will close with nothing to replace it as no alternative site has been announced.

Rachel Newland, 47, from Earley is a driving instructor who has raised alarm at the news that the driving test centre in Elgar Road South, Katesgrove will close in Spring 2025.

The centre, where drivers undertake their practical tests, is set to be demolished to make way for a new residential building containing 16 flats.

Mrs Newland accused the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) of not meeting its targets, claiming the number of tests being undertaken in Reading has been down by 24,000 tests this year.

She said: "I've been helping one of my students and we just about got one for February next year. Then the building is going in Spring 2025.

"For areas like Reading, people should not have to travel more than seven miles or wait more than six weeks for their practical tests.

READ MORE: Driving agency answers complaints over examiners finishing at 4pm at Reading driving test centre 

"The DVSA have a history of not meeting their own targets."

Mrs Newland highlighted the situation in Bournemouth, where the test centre closed in 2019 and was never replaced.

Meanwhile, in High Wycombe potential drivers were left without a test centre for more than a year when its site closed in Spring 2022.  A new site in nearby Loudwater was opened in June 2023.

These situations elsewhere have led to fears that Reading could ultimately be left without a test centre.

Mrs Newland said: "There have been many many false economies, such as selling buildings off then renting them back."

While the DVSA stated that it is looking for an alternative site in Reading in July, it did not provide information of any replacement site.

Mrs Newland said: "There's no news on any replacement.

"We were emailed at the beginning of this year saying they would start closing the test centre in Spring 2025.

"What we have been waiting and hoping for is a follow-up from the DVSA saying they've found an alternative.

"There's been nothing. The absence of news on any site is truly concerning."

The Reading Chronicle has confronted the DVSA over the lack of public information about where the new test centre will be. 

In response, a DVSA spokesperson said: “We are aware that the landlord of our current driving test centre in Reading has been granted permission to redevelop the site.

“A new location has been identified and we are in the early stages of negotiating the lease. We will confirm the location as soon as we are able to.”

The DVSA has a balance of freehold, leasehold and rental agreements across its estate.