For a number of years Nissen hut buildings were used to house many families awaiting re-housing under the post-war building programme. Forehoe & Henstead R D C also used part of the area as a store depot. This would have been during the 1950s era and this was a number of years before the Lotus Factory arrived. With the end of military control, Hethel found a new life in civilian hands becoming the manufacturing and testing site for Lotus Cars. The location of the factory is on the old technical site and the manufacture of vehicles, originally started in the old hangars and workshops, now takes place in several modern buildings. Lotus utilizes parts of the airfield perimeter track and lengths of the main runway as a testing track.