Root Power overturns planning rejection for UK BESS project

UK developer Root Power has had a planning refusal overturned, paving the way for construction of a 50 MW/100 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project near Pontefract, England.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council denied planning permission for the Cooklands BESS project on July 30, 2025 – acting against the recommendation of planning officers. The council’s planning committee, which is made up of elected local politicians, claimed the project would be an inappropriate development on green belt land.

Typically, local planning decisions in England are decided at local authority level on the recommendations of planning officers – however larger or contentious applications may be ruled on by the council’s planning committee, made up of elected local politicians. The decision by Wakefield Council was successfully appealed by Root Power’s parent company YLEM Energy Limited.

The decision was overturned by the UK government’s Planning Inspectorate, ruling in Root Power’s favor based on classification of the proposed site, following a site visit made by the Inspectorate on Nov. 4, 2025. Official documents show YLEM Energy Limited was able to argue the project site should constitute gray-belt land – a status with fewer restrictions on development – rather than green belt.

Following the successful appeal, Root Power must now fulfil a set of conditions that include submitting a construction environmental plan for biodiversity, a soil management plan, and battery safety management plan before construction begins.

In a statement, Neil Brooks, managing director at Root Power, said: “This decision marks our third successful planning appeal in six weeks and another key milestone in our growing Yorkshire portfolio, which now totals more than 230 MW of storage set to be live by 2030.”