MOTORBIKE testing will continue in the car park at the Kassam Stadium.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has been testing learner motorbike drivers on the west car park at Oxford United's home ground since 2008.

To continue using the area for testing, it needed planning permission from Oxford City Council.

At its meeting last week, the city council's east area planning committee gave the DVSA a three-year temporary permission to carry on driving bikes across the car park.

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There were conditions to the plan, including that testing is only done between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday, and never on match days at the stadium.

The DVSA will keep an office upstairs in the stadium and will also use a downstairs storage room which opens on to the car park.

The agency also plans to scrape moss off an area of tarmac and to replace the car park covering in another area to make to the test track is up to scratch.

A report to the council said if the DVSA is not allowed to continue, people would have had to travel to Swindon if they want to be tested for a motorbike driving licence.

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Approximately 900 motorcycle tests take place on the site each year at the moment, and the government agency has said it would like to carry on with the same number in the future.

This is the equivalent of two or three tests on an average day.

The report to the committee said the council will help the DVSA to search for a permanent motorbike testing site in Oxford in the future.

See planning reference 19/02453/FUL at the Oxford City Council website for more information.