The Lennox Herald seems to think some sort of about-turn has been made, or some victory achieved over the “closure” of the Dumbarton test centre.
Let’s just touch base with reality for a moment. This story started when Dumbarton instructors staged a protest over something that existed only in their imaginations. The DSA said quite clearly:
DSA plans to continue to provide driving tests in Dumbarton. There are no plans to transfer testing provision to Anniesland or elsewhere.
Testing in Dumbarton has been operating three days a week on a trial basis, but this will be reviewed and can be increased if there is sufficient demand for more days.
Candidates can still book tests slots in Dumbarton for the days when testing is taking place.
It only went this far because the lease ran out on the previous site, and it was looking for another. This new article says the same thing:
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) had only been operating three days a week since moving to a temporary base in the town’s Burgh Hall.
But it gets a little more curious if you read into what a local councillor says:
The DSA will still be based in the Burgh Hall while actively seeking permanent premises, but we’ve given a commitment that they can have the hall for five days instead of three for the same fee.
So it appears that part of the problem was that the local council was either not offering the premises for five days, or it was trying to charge too high a fee for that length of time. Whatever the case, a large part of the problem seems to not have been the DSA’s fault.
They’re still going on as if the test centre could move away in Dumbarton, though. They still can’t understand what the DSA said:
DSA plans to continue to provide driving tests in Dumbarton . There are no plans to transfer testing provision to Anniesland or elsewhere.
However, it will surely pass into ADI folklore that the DSA tried to close down the Dumbarton test centre, force people to travel hundreds of miles, but was pushed into an embarrassing climbdown because a small group of instructors held a “protest convoy”.