Rolls-Royce closes test facility

Engines have been tested at the site for 70 years

Rolls-Royce has stopped testing aircraft engines at its plant in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire - 70 years after work began.

The Derby-based firm said it was still committed to the site, which employs more than 850 workers on an engine parts production line.

No job losses will result from the closure of the test facility.

The first Spitfire Mark 5 fitted with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was tested in Hucknall in the 1940s.

Initial disappointment

Engineer Alan Spray said: "When it was originally announced that we were closing there was a huge amount of disappointment to a lot of people.

"But we have worked through that and the last test - we went out on a high and everybody said it was a job well done."

Rolls-Royce spokesman Garry Atkins said the firm invested £15m on a systems combustion factory on the site several years ago.

"We made the decision to build new facilities where we had the skills - and certainly there are very well established skills here."

The decision to stop engine testing at Hucknall was originally taken in 2001 subject to finding a suitable alternative venue.

The engines are now tested in the United States.