Goodrest Farm BESS Update 23rd February 2026
All may seem quiet since the Goodrest Farm BESS application was approved on 9th October, but since then there has been a considerable amount of background activity.
When the application was approved, we provided an update which referred to NESO’s “Connections Reform” which recognised that the connection queue to the National Grid was considerably in excess of the targets for 2030 and 2035. Subsequently, on 8th December 2025 NESO issued a further bulletin ‘Unlocking Investment. Connecting Britain”, which acknowledges that the BESS queue had grown to over 700GW, four times what’s needed by 2030.
This has led to a situation where there won’t be any new battery projects allowed until the current ones are ready, and the application window opens again. However, this is not going to plan, and an update is provided below from the February 23rd HPC meeting. This highlights in more detail the current situation, and importantly the potential implications for the Goodrest Farm BESS development.
The update can be found here HPC Goodrest Farm BESS Update FEB 2026
Goodrest Farm Bess Approval 9th October
Sadly, last night the Goodrest Farm BESS application was approved by the Bromsgrove District Council Planning Committee.
An account of meeting can be found here: Goodrest Farm BESS Approval 9th October