Bury Test Centre remains closed.

Bury Driving Test centre is still closed for practical tests, nearly a year after it was closed due to flooding.

The building suffered severe water damage to the walls, computers and floor on December 30 last year after water pipes in the building burst due to the bad weather that hit the north of England around the festive period.
At the time it was claimed that the centre would be refurbished and reopened by summer 2011. However it was discovered that the damage was greater than first thought and the centre, situated on Smith Street, Bury, has been shut down ever since.

In April, the Driving Standards Agency announced Bury Driving Test Centre will re open in Summmer 2011. In August of the same year, this was changed to before "the end of the year." The Bury MP Ivan Lewis raised the subject in the House of Commons and recieved the same answer.

Applicants who had or were due to have their driving test from Bury Test Centre were forced to change to the nearby venues of Bolton or Rochdale.




View Route to Bury Driving Test Centre from Bolton Driving Test Centre in a larger map

However as the map shows, Bolton Driving Test Centre is over seven miles away from the current Bury site, and Rochdale Driving Test Centre is nearly eight miles away.

Cheryl Young, a driving instructor who teaches in Bury said:”It’s incredibly annoying for me. All my pupils live around Bury and have been learning around Bury so know the area. I've had to extend my lessons so I've got time to go over the new routes. It's costing my pupils more money than they wanted to pay so it's not fair on them."

The renovation work is continuing at Bury Driving Test Centre and is now scheduled to open its doors to the public again later this year, according to a Department of Transport spokesperson.