HAMPSHIRE'S fire chief has said he is 'concerned' about plans to build an industrial lithium-ion battery storage facility in Basingstoke.

As previously reported Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council granted planning permission for a new lithium battery storage facility in Basing Fenn next to Basingstoke town centre, hospital, and within meters of the River Loddon – one of the major tributaries to the River Thames.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Chief, Neil Odin has now shared his concern.

He said: "Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Chief, Neil Odin, has said ‘’ Whilst we recognise the positive contribution that these types of installations can play in providing solutions to cleaner energy, we remain concerned about the impact of the chosen locations that could have such a detrimental effect on the local environment and important infrastructure should a fire occur.  

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“In the event of a fire, our teams would face an impossible choice between protecting the community from a potentially toxic or explosive gas plume or applying water that would pollute the watercourse for many years.’’ 

Maria Miller MP visited Basing Fen, the site of a proposed industrial lithium-ion battery storage facility. 

She added: "Last Friday, I met with Cllr Kate Tuck again at the site of a proposed industrial lithium-ion storage facility. This site is one of many battery storage facilities that have been granted planning permission across the country. Whilst these facilities are important for our transition to net zero, they utilize relatively new technology in a way which has been shown to pose a potential fire hazard".  

"Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Chief, Neil Odin, has said ‘’ Whilst we recognise the positive contribution that these types of installations can play in providing solutions to cleaner energy, we remain concerned about the impact of the chosen locations that could have such a detrimental effect on the local environment and important infrastructure should a fire occur."

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Mrs Miller said: “Considering these risks, it is difficult to understand how the current planning rules can be formulated to allow planning permission to be given to a new battery storage facility so close to one of Basingstoke’s Hospitals and the environmentally protected River Loddon. If a battery unit catches fire, the only way to extinguish it is to continuously cool it with water. This process can take several days. By this time, as Neil Odin suggests, the water runoff could become contaminated with chemicals that might infiltrate local water courses."

A spokesperson for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said: "A planning application for this site was properly determined in accordance with our statutory planning duties and national planning policy and regulations in March 2020. It was due to expire on 10 March 2023 and planners are investigating whether it is deemed to have ‘lawfully commenced’ in terms of starting work and meeting the necessary conditions.

"There is complexity around this issue as there is an absence of regulations on lithium batteries and no national planning policies about fire safety in relation to such applications.

"We are aware that Basingstoke MP Dame Maria Miller tabled the Lithium Ion (Fire Safety and Environmental Permits) Bill 2022 seeking to make local fire services statutory consultees for battery storage planning applications, and for the granting of environmental permits.

"In the event of a fire, the council would support Hampshire Fire and Rescue and the Environment Agency, as the bodies who would lead the response to such an incident, to manage any risk."