Rolls-Royce has drawn up plans for up to 200,000 sq ft of new manufacturing and office space in Derby.
The engineering giant wants to replace the Southwing office building at its Raynesway site on the east of the city, where it designs and builds reactors that power the UK’s nuclear submarines. It said the space was no longer fit for purpose and it wants to replace it with two new buildings.
In planning documents it said new space would ensure the submarine business was in a position to meet the demands of its Ministry of Defence contracts. The redevelopment could create an extra 30 manufacturing jobs, it said, and provide new accommodation for 450 existing office staff.
It comes four years after the Ministry of Defence awarded a £235 million contract to Rolls-Royce Submarines, which is part of the group’s defence business, to support nuclear propulsion systems.
Defence contracts worth more than £2 billion were awarded to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Submarines last year to begin the third major phase of the future submarine nuclear deterrent programme – Dreadnought.
This contract will allow four new submarines to be built in the UK from the 2030s, which will have a lifespan of about 30 years.
The plans follow the opening of Rolls-Royce’s Nuclear Skills Academy at Infinity Park Derby, which is run in collaboration with the University of Derby to produce the nuclear engineers of the future.
John Forkin, managing director of inward investment body Marketing Derby, welcomed the proposals.
He said: “The Rolls-Royce campus at Raynesway is already one of the most important sites for invention, building and testing of nuclear technology.
“The sheer scale of this investment is a massive vote of confidence in the company, the city and its workforce and complements perfectly the recent launch of the Nuclear Skills Academy across the city.”
