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The RHA says no further VOSA test stations should close until there are enough replacement Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) in place. The call comes after VOSA revealed that the first test station to close as part of the project will shut in just seven weeks, despite the fact no replacement ATF is in place.

"We are calling for VOSA and the  DfT to ensure that there are no more test station closures under the ATF plan before there are more current and rigid guidelines on how they will be will set up," says RHA head of technical services Steve Biddle.

Under the plan, VOSA intends to shift 85% of its tests over to privately run ATFs by 2013, however, testing will continue to be carried out by VOSA staff. In the coming year, VOSA plans to decommission one lane at approximately 10 stations where overcapacity has been identified, while former chief executive Stephen Tetlow told Motor Transport in January he anticipates 30% of tests will be conducted offsite by the end of 2009.

Last week,VOSA customer director Kevin Rooney confirmed the dates of the first three station closures:

• Steeton,  West Yorks - 23 April
• Bredbury, Cheshire - 7 May 
• Par (St Austell), Cornwall - a date will be announced by the end of March, giving a minimum of three months' notice.

According to Rooney, VOSA will continue to charge £51 for conducting tests at ATFs, while the ATF owner will place a charge on top at their discretion, but the average would be £21 extra.

Jack Semple, RHA director of policy, adds: "We are seeking a fair deal. We do not want to see a spike in test fees because VOSA is closing test stations and building up ATFs."

Jo Tanner, FTA director of communications, says when VOSA came to present its ATF proposals last September at the FTA's National Road Freight Council, members were broadly supportive of its aims, which would ultimately reduce vehicle downtime and costs.

"Six months on, however, and there is still no meat on the bones, just news of further test centre closures - leaving us and our members in limbo," she adds.

Joe Balmforth, operations director at Keighley, West Yorks firm R McDowell, estimates the closure of Steeton will add £70,000 to its annual bill due to longer journey times.