A REGENERATION project in Glastonbury may not be “completed at all” amid fears over how funding has been spent.
Somerset Council – which is responsible for monitoring spending as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal project – said an independent audit report concluded the Life Factory scheme “cannot be successfully delivered” in line with the funding agreement.
As a result, the council has frozen funds to the project – one of 10 being undertaken in the town, which received a £23.6 million Towns Fund grant from the government.
The Life Factory scheme was set to create a “space for innovation, enterprise and creativity”, according to the Town Deal website, in one of the former Beckery Village buildings, known as Building C.
However, while the first phase of the project – using £250,000 of accelerated funding – has seen work completed to make the building water-tight, safe and structurally sound, Somerset Council said the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) report revealed problems with the project, which was due to be delivered by Red Brick Building Centre Ltd, the grant recipient.
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A council statement said: “In late 2023, Somerset Council became concerned about management of The Life Factory project and in January 2024, paused funding while officers and elected members worked with the board of the Red Brick Building in the hope of creating a viable plan for ensuring the delivery of the project.
“Despite the efforts made by all parties, it was with regret that Somerset Council determined that it was not able to adequately reconcile invoices in the grant claims received up to December 2023 with actual spend and progress on site, as required by the Grant Funding Agreement.
“Somerset Council therefore referred the project for audit by the South West Audit Partnership due to serious concerns on financial management, governance and value for money.
“The reports make clear that, despite identifying more than £2.89m of spend so far, the project cannot be successfully delivered in line with the Grant Funding Agreement and it is not clear that the project can be completed at all.
“This means that the Red Brick Building are not in compliance with the Grant Funding Agreement, and the Council may need to seek repayment of monies already spent.”
Work to make the building watertight and safe has been completed. Picture: Glastonbury Town Deal
Chief executive of the council, Duncan Sharkey, said: “The report has confirmed our concerns about the project. Although we took action to pause payments and refer to auditors, we accept the findings that our level of oversight and monitoring of this project could have been strengthened.
“The audit also notes that a number of control weaknesses lie with the Red Brick Building. We believe these issues are isolated to this project.
“We have taken immediate action to review our management of other infrastructure projects, including the other nine Glastonbury Town Deal projects, and we are confident these are being managed robustly.
“Although Somerset Council is not contractually responsible for any payments to contractors engaged in The Life Factory project, we understand the impact this is having on those with legitimate claims, a number of whom are local.
“However, we cannot release any further funds. We continue to work with the Red Brick Building and the Glastonbury Town Deal Board to consider the next steps for this project while additional audit work continues.”
The SWAP report will be considered by Somerset Council’s Audit Committee on May 22.
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Red Brick Building is the group behind the project. Their website detailed plans for Building C, saying: “In 2022, the Red Brick Building secured (around) £3.6 million in the Glastonbury Town Deal to refurbish and save from collapse the derelict wing of the Red Brick Building, known as Building C. This old factory, which is part of Glastonbury’s industrial heritage, will be restored and returned to community use.
“The Red Brick Building has been a dedicated Community Benefit Society for over a decade, and this funding will allow us to expand and further deliver on our commitment to Community, Arts, Education, and Enterprise.
“The funding is enabling us to repair and regenerate the building, and expand our community resources. Current plans for Building C include: a Community Canteen, a specialist recording studio, updated facilities for GWS Radio, wellbeing spaces, youth activity spaces, and a large creative makers’ space known as The Life Factory.
“The project intends to improve energy conservation, and power the building with 100% renewable sources, thus supporting the town’s journey to net zero.
“Beckery Construction Company – a subsidiary of the Red Brick Building Centre Ltd. – was set up to manage the construction phase of the project. This has enabled us to recruit skilled workers from the local community. We have also partnered with Train4All to offer construction skills training and apprenticeships to local people.”
Last year, work on the project was paused amid claims some businesses associated with the project had not been paid.
Before a Somerset Full Council meeting in September, Cllr Susannah Hart raised the issue.
“A number of tradesmen have approached their elected representatives to seek redress for the failure of payments being made to them for works already undertaken on the Life Factory project, which forms part of the Glastonbury town deal,” she said.
“It is understood that an independent audit of the finances of the Life Factory and the other projects administered by the Red Brick Building is currently being undertaken, and we look forward to a timely publication of the report.
“Payments are apparently outstanding for more than six months to tradesmen who were deliberately chosen because they were small, local firms.
“Such small businesses simply cannot remain in business without payment. We ask therefore, on their behalf, when can all outstanding payments expect to finally be received?”
She added: “At present, 74% of the £3m allocated to the project [circa £2,220,000] has already been spent, only to result in a roofless structure.
“In all honesty, has there been any consideration of the voracity of the entire scheme in terms of value for public money spent?”
The Red Brick Building has been contacted for comment.
The audit report has criticised both Red Brick and Somerset Council. Lack of scrutiny, governance and oversight being cited as some of the major issues. The council played down the level of risk and continued to make payments. This has left many of the contractors who have submitted legitimate invoices without payments for months. How and why should they be denied payments due to the incompetence of Red Brick and the council?