Learner drivers in Brighton and Hove will be forced to travel miles to take their tests.

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is to close both test centres in the city and send all learners to a new £1.5 million purpose-built facility in Burgess Hill.

In April, The Argus first revealed the plans and now letters have been sent to instructors across the area confirming the closures will go ahead.

The move has sparked anger among learner drivers and instructors in the city who say the 22-mile round trip is unfair.

People in Burgess Hill are also concerned there will be scores of extra learners on the town’s roads every day.

John Crowther, who runs Fiveways Driving School in Brighton, said: “It is a crying shame that there will not be a test centre in Brighton and Hove.

“It’s too far to travel and it is the learners who will be hit in the pocket. The DSA should have compromised and left one of the centres in the city open.”

The test centres at the Brighton Marina and Burwash Road, Hove, will close on January 8 and the new centre will open in Charles Avenue, Burgess Hill.

When news of the changes broke, Burgess Hill town councillor Tony Balsdon said he was “stunned” at the proposals.

He said: “We always welcome people to Burgess Hill but I wonder whether it is suitable for this – for example, there is only one proper set of traffic lights in the town.”

Test centres in Worthing, Crawley and Chichester are unaffected.

Another multipurpose centre is to be built in Eastbourne next year.

The plans are part of a wider scheme to create 66 multipurpose test centres across England, Scotland and Wales.

The move follows new European Union directives which require motorcyclists to perform an array of moves during a test, including an emergency stop at 50kph (31mph).

Because that speed is too fast for 30mph roads in Britain, purpose-built test centres with a track for such manoeuvres are required.

DSA chief executive Rosemary Thew said: “The new motorbike test will contribute to improvements in road safety.

“This multipurpose test centre in Burgess Hill fits into our overall vision of improving the testing facilities for both riders and drivers across Britain.”