The Politics of Chemicals: How a Lithium Plant Won Over a Community

Adam Duckett speaks to John McKay, a ward councillor using his engineering experience to help the Basingstoke residents he serves understand the risks of a chemicals plant being built close to their homes

John McKay, councillor and retired engineer

“PEOPLE go straight to Google,” says John. “They Google lithium and before you know it, you’re back in chemistry class watching exploding metal and battery fires.”

The Basingstoke residents’ concerns were sparked by LevertonHelm’s 2023 planning application to change a local warehouse into a production facility for lithium chloride.

As objections began racking up, John approached LevertonHelm and suggested they meet with the council’s planning officer to discuss next steps. The upshot was an agreement to invite residents to a public meeting.

“It was an ace card for them to play,” he says. He just thinks the company should have played it sooner. “They chose not to have a consultation before the planning application went in. It allowed those objections to come in with a lot of genuine fears about combustibility and danger to the environment.

“Tankers delivering hydrochloric acid past the end of the street didn’t fill people with enthusiasm.”

You might imagine a public meeting with lines of boisterous attendees taking turns to hector company officials on stage. In reality, it was nothing like that. The event was organised as an open day, with people invited to drop in when it suited them.

“They had display boards and posters around the room so that people could follow the journey of the product, find out a bit about the history of the company and what was planned.

“Some people came in, had a quick look around and went on their way, but the majority engaged in conversations with people from LevertonHelm and had their questions answered. It was a very polite two-way process.