Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

James Bond studio expansion held back by UK power grid delays

by July 15, 2024
July 15, 2024
James Bond studio expansion held back by UK power grid delays

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.

The call, which was hosted by Mr Reynolds and Gareth Davies, permanent secretary of the Department for Business and Trade, also heard executives at National Grid warn that regulation remained a barrier to growth.

Under the current first come, first served system, many viable projects become stuck in the connection queue behind schemes with little prospect of progress or speculators who have lodged applications in the hope they can later generate interest or investment.

As a result, projects can face years-long delays in getting hooked up to the power network as they wait to progress through the queue.

Tom Glover, UK chairman of power giant RWE, has warned that Britain’s “slow and bureaucratic” electricity grid is delaying the deployment of billions of pounds of investment.

A spokesman for Pinewood Studios declined to comment.

The film industry is also facing the challenge of slowing demand and the fallout from last year’s writers and actors’ strike.

Labour will introduce an industrial strategy bill in the King’s Speech this week, with the party pledging to appoint a new Industrial Strategy Council that will focus on boosting productivity and support the country’s fast-growing industries.

Read more:
James Bond studio expansion held back by UK power grid delays

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Property developers prepare for green belt ‘gold rush’ as Chancellor pushes for building revival
next post
Hotel Chocolat to open 25 new stores with Mars backing

You may also like

Santander UK staff brace for fresh job cuts...

February 5, 2025

Evening Standard scraps daily print paper blaming work...

May 30, 2024

Essential Tips for Creating a Customer-Centric Business Strategy

August 20, 2024

New Prime Minister Truss needs to reform more...

September 5, 2022

LGBTQ+ Business Trends: How the Lesbian Dating Industry...

March 25, 2025

Chancellor Kwarteng summons bank chiefs for economy crisis...

September 7, 2022

Labelling Machines in Modern Era of On-Demand Operations

September 11, 2023

Andrew Bailey: UK likely to avoid worst impact...

December 4, 2024

Labour government presses ahead with non-dom tax reforms

July 30, 2024

House prices defy forecasts to continue double-digit increase,...

September 1, 2022

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025
    • Call with China’s Xi, and Trump-Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump’s conservative allies warn Congress faces critical ‘test’ with $9.4B spending cut proposal

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,568)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved