James Bond studio expansion held back by UK power grid delays

Szu Ping Chan

Mon 15 July 2024

Britain’s creaking power grid is threatening the expansion of the studio where Star Wars and James Bond were filmed, its chairman has warned.

Pinewood Studios chairman Paul Golding told Business Secretary Jonny Reynolds on a call last week that delays connecting to the grid was one of the factors holding the business back.

Buckinghamshire Council gave the studios approval for a 1.4m sq ft expansion last year in a move that will create over 8,000 new jobs and boost the economy by £640m a year.

But Mr Golding suggested the studio could be forced to wait until 2030 for a grid connection, seven years after it was granted planning permission, according to people on the call.

His remarks, made in the presence of almost 200 business leaders including the bosses of Siemens, National Grid and Scottish Power, show that delays have become a major obstacle to growth for businesses across the economy.

Delays in connecting to the grid, which manages the distribution of electricity and gas to British homes and businesses, have usually been associated with renewable energy projects.

It also emerged in 2022 that housing projects in West London faced severe delays connecting to the network because data centres had already gobbled up capacity.

It is understood that several other businesses on the hour-long call also raised the issue of grid capacity.

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