The sale of a lorry and trailer driving test centre has sparked renewed calls for the site to reopen, more than four years after its closure.

Would-be truckers who would once have attended the Hersden LGV site, on the outskirts of Canterbury, now have to travel to Gillingham in Medway or Hastings.

The only centre of its kind in east Kent, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed plans to sell the site, after its closure in November 2020 prompted complaints from driving instructors.

Following the latest development, Ellias Mugazda, of Start 2 Drive HGV, told KentOnline: “I would want it reopened because now we are going to Gillingham to do the tests.

“Even when they were only opening about three days a week, it was still working fine and we could use it.

“It was not just me, it was a number of other guys and some of them ended up closing.

“The DVSA were telling me to go to Hastings but I needed to drive two hours just to get there.”

The part-time test centre, which is wedged between two new-build housing estates, offered 11 test slots a week for those hoping to drive lorries and coaches or tow trailers

The DVSA says it is receptive to training bodies in the area offering a site as a makeshift testing centre, but it currently only works with two in Kent- Richborough and Sittingbourne.

Agency bosses also refuse to confirm whether cash would be reinvested in east Kent.

Gerald Eve, the estate agent selling the site, was unable to specify a price when asked by KentOnline, and said this would be dictated by expressions of interest.

The Island Road plot is set to be allocated in Canterbury City Council’s upcoming local plan, a blueprint for building in the district, as an employment site.

A DVSA spokesperson said: “DVSA’s priority is to help everyone through a lifetime of safe driving.

“It is important we provide customers with a service that offers value for money, and we keep all test centres under regular review, enabling us to provide better services.

“Goods vehicle driver testing is provided by DVSA colleagues in Gillingham or at customer sites provided by training companies.”