The stressful task of passing your driving test is set to get harder in Stevenage and North Herts when the centre where candidates tackle the theory part of the exam moves next month.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will move from offices in Southgate House in Stevenage town centre to Meadway Corporate Centre in Bessemer Drive.

The new centre will be much more difficult to get to, making it harder for people to take their theory tests, according to driving instructor Chris Lowe.

He said: “The majority of people taking it go to college and come into Stevenage on the train or bus.

“When the test centre is stuck in the middle of nowhere they’ll have to use more public transport to get there and back which isn’t ideal.

“I’ve also had a lot of learners tell me they can’t book a test online so they’ve ended up going to Luton or even Watford because the system doesn’t work for them here.”

Chris also revealed that several of his colleagues and students didn’t even realise that the centre was moving.

“There has been nothing from the DVSA,” he said. “It is just: We are shutting, we are moving. It has a big catchment area and if you don’t take it here you’ve got to go a long way.

“I am sure there are lots of small empty offices in the town centre, why couldn’t they have rented one of them?”

A DVSA spokesman said the new site has bus links and free on-site parking and will open on Saturday, April 18.