Audits revealed concerns over the running ofthe Life Factory project in Glastonbury. Picture: Google

Red Brick Building’s future to be decided “within the next few weeks” amid financial saga

Paul JonesDecember 23, 20250 Comment0

BOSSES at Glastonbury’s Red Brick Building say the future of the site will be “decided within the next few weeks” as the fallout over the failed Life Factory project continues.

The Red Brick Building, a venue and community hub, took on a role in charge of the Life Factory scheme, funded as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal, which saw the town handed more than £20 million for projects.

However, the scheme fell into financial jeopardy amid failures to secure match funding and a lack of oversight, including by Somerset Council – which was responsible for monitoring the money.

The issues continue to be analysed and investigated – including by Avon & Somerset Police – and the fallout has intensified, with Somerset Council seeking to claw back money it handed to the project leaders.

As a result, the authority terminated funding for the Life Factory – and the associated Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre, so overseen by a Red Brick-linked company.

Now, in a lengthy statement laying out an immediate future that will “determine whether this long-standing community asset can continue to operate, or whether it will be forced to close”, the Red brick Building has spoken out about the Life Factory saga – and what could happen next.

It says it comes amid problems over “misinformation and the complexity of events”, with the group prevented from speaking previously due to confidentiality agreements amid allegations some of Somerset Council’s own communications had caused “confusion and fear”.

Your Leveller has approached Somerset Council for a response to the statement and for an update on the situation.

Meanwhile, here is the Red brick Building statement in full:

“The future of the Red Brick Building will be decided within the next few weeks. An independent financial review is underway, alongside a series of critical meetings at Somerset Council that will determine whether this long-standing community asset can continue to operate, or whether it will be forced to close.

Until recently we have been bound by confidentiality obligations under the Glastonbury Town Deal Fund Agreement and were therefore unable to speak publicly about events relating to the Life factory project. We also wanted to ensure the organisation was not jeopardised while we worked to resolve the issues.

However, two weeks ago, a Somerset County Councillor (sic) visited the Red Brick Building to meet staff and tenants – many of whom now face the loss of their workspaces, roles, and livelihoods.

That visit prompted the need to set out, clearly and publicly, how we arrived at this point.

Given the scale of misinformation and the complexity of events, we believe it is essential to explain what has happened, what is at risk, and what the closure of the Red Brick Building would mean for Glastonbury.

Background: A Thriving Community Hub

Before the Glastonbury Town Deal-funded Life Factory project began to impact our organisation, the Red Brick Building was a busy, stable, and successful community centre.

We delivered:

Community outreach programmes
An active community garden
Community-led initiatives, workshops and courses
Affordable desk and office space for local businesses
Artisan and maker spaces
Music and arts events as the largest venue of its kind locally
A popular restaurant and bar
A thriving youth club
Work experience placements for students and volunteer opportunities
A wide range of grassroots activities led by volunteers and local partners

The centre was vibrant, financially stable, and operating confidently within its organisational capacity.

The Life Factory Project: A Separate Project

The Life Factory project was a Glastonbury Town Deal initiative focused on regenerating the derelict section of building known as ‘Building C’. It was developed and delivered by a separate project team, with its own structure, budget, and operational focus. While the Life Factory team initially attempted to break away from the Red Brick Building Centre’s governance and operate independently, they later rejoined in order to access the Glastonbury Town Deal funding; funding that required formal governance, and was awarded to the Life Factory project in part due to Red Brick Building’s positive reputation.

It is important to be absolutely clear: the only shared element between the Life Factory project and the existing Red Brick Building community centre was a common Board of Directors. Day-to-day operations, staffing, budgets, and core community activity were otherwise distinct.

The Board acknowledges that oversight and decision-making were not as strong as they should have been right from the start and takes responsibility for governance decisions. Directors raised concerns early about their capacity to manage a project of this scale and complexity, and requested support from Mendip District Council. Subsequent audit reporting has highlighted significant weaknesses in Somerset Council’s oversight as the Accountable Body.

The pressures created by the Life Factory project were huge. This was particularly evident during the prolonged and abrupt pause in funding, while Red Brick Building’s Board of Directors conducted their own internal investigations and an external audit took place. Responsibility for this fell heavily on the whole Red Brick Building organisation. Staff time, Board capacity, financial oversight, and operational resources were repeatedly diverted from the existing community centre to support a project that was never designed or resourced to be absorbed into the core organisation.

When funding for the Life Factory project was paused, Red Brick Building Centre had no choice but to use all available financial reserves from the existing community centre to pay Life Factory staff wages and contractors for work already completed. The pause in funding was expected to last three months, and the decision to use reserves in this way was based on assurances that funding would resume and thus reserves would be replenished. As a Community Benefit Society and responsible employer, the Red Brick Building organisation had legal and ethical obligations to meet certain commitments associated with the Life Factory. The financial consequences of this were not adequately acknowledged or mitigated by Somerset Council.

Funding never resumed and the Life Factory project ceased. This resulted in severe financial impact on the Red Brick Building organisation. As a result, there is now a very strong likelihood that the fallout from the Life Factory project will lead to the closure of both the long-standing Red Brick Building community centre and the Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre project.

Impact on the Organisation

Since the Life Factory project began, it has placed sustained strain on the Red Brick Building community centre in the following ways:

Operational resources: A live construction site made it difficult for staff and tenants to work safely and for the organisation to sustain income-generating activity.
Staff capacity: A small, largely part-time staff team was stretched far beyond contractual roles while dealing with ongoing fallout from the Life Factory operations.
Board capacity: Directors were required to navigate a highly complex grant programme well outside their usual remit, with minimal practical external support despite repeated requests for specific training and guidance.
Finances: During an extended pause in funding – initially communicated as lasting three months – Red Brick Building exhausted all financial reserves to cover Life Factory wages and contractor costs, leaving the organisation financially exposed as the pause continued.
Tenant stability: Disruption caused by the Life Factory project contributed directly to the loss of our anchor tenant, The Old Tannery.

Clawback Request and Escalating Financial Risk

Somerset Council, as the Accountable Body for the Glastonbury Town Deal funding, has now issued a potential clawback request for the full grant amount. This request also includes funding linked to the Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre project, which is a project currently thriving and delivering its agreed outcomes.

News of the potential clawback request, combined with sustained negative and often inaccurate media coverage, has had a devastating effect on the existing community centre. We have lost key tenants, have had to navigate cancelled bookings and events, and been forced to halt future plans – further reducing income at a time when the organisation is already under extreme pressure.

Red Brick Building Centre does not have the financial capacity to repay this sum. The Board has therefore been preparing for the possibility of insolvency. An emergency independent financial assessment is currently underway.

What Closure Would Mean

The closure of the Red Brick Building community centre would displace:

Many local small businesses and social enterprises who rent workspaces.
A dedicated team of passionate staff and volunteers.
Long-term regular room hirers who rely on the community spaces to run their livelihoods.

Community members supported through our ongoing initiatives, including:

Weekly community wellbeing support sessions in collaboration with Glastonbury Mental Health Network.
The Red Brick Building Community Garden, supporting people experiencing mental health challenges, homelessness, and isolation.
Local musicians and students who use the Event Space at low or no cost.
Our flagship Morlands and Bailey’s heritage project, bringing former factory workers together for a monthly reunion, preserving local history and engaging schools.

As one tenant explained: “The Red Brick wasn’t just a venue for me – it became integral to my livelihood and my creative practice. I can’t simply pick up what I do and move it elsewhere. This building was right structurally, creatively, and in terms of trust. Losing it means losing a way of working that can’t easily be replaced.”

The Human Cost

Our small staff team has worked under immense and prolonged strain. Alongside operational pressures, staff and volunteers have been deeply affected by rumours and misinformation circulating publicly.

A minority of voices, sadly including some individuals in community-facing roles, have repeatedly criticised and undermined the organisation using hearsay or unsubstantiated claims, often failing to distinguish between the Life Factory project and the long-standing Red Brick Building community centre. Throughout this period, the Board and staff have not engaged publicly or defensively to public commentary, despite the personal and emotional toll.

Rumours have also circulated regarding financial impropriety. We can confirm that no staff, trustees, or directors of Red Brick Building have been approached about any investigation into this.

As one long-term hirer described: “The people who stayed – staff, tenants, hirers, small businesses – are not the villains in this story. Most of the current team and Board have only been in place in recent years, quietly trying to salvage what they could. None of us caused this, yet we are the ones who have lost the most.”

This has caused significant distress, eroded morale, and damaged reputation at a time when the organisation most needed community support.

What the Community Has Achieved

Despite these challenges, the Red Brick community has continued to deliver an extraordinary range of activity over recent years, including:

An RHS award-winning community garden praised for inclusivity and outreach.
Heritage focus, outreach and activities through the Morlands and Bailey’s project.
Some fabulous and wide-ranging music, cultural, and arts events in the area’s largest venue.
Youth work in partnership with the YMCA, including youth music, heritage events and college work experience placements.
Regular mental health and community drop-in sessions in collaboration with Glastonbury Mental Health Network.
Many hours of committed volunteer time that has gone into the Farm project.
An active jazz scene, and local musicians, young DJs, artists and students supported.
Exhibitions, markets, and volunteering opportunities.
Low-cost workspaces fostering networking and support for local businesses.
Creative spaces for artisans and low-cost community spaces for regular classes, workshops and courses.

“At its height, the Red Brick was genuinely multi-functional – a place where culture, creativity, conversation, and community overlapped. People who might never otherwise have crossed paths came, stayed, and belonged. That period matters, because it shows that the Red Brick was capable of.” – long term user of the building.

Our Current Position

We are now at a critical point. Income has dropped sharply. Our reputation has been seriously damaged – not only by the situation itself, but by inaccurate or misleading narratives circulating publicly. In some cases, Somerset Council’s own communications have contributed to confusion and fear, leaving staff and tenants feeling unprotected and misrepresented.

It is important to state clearly that the Glastonbury Town Deal Life Factory project did not merely stretch the organisation – it exhausted it.

A Final Opportunity

Despite everything, over the last few months, Red Brick Building Centre developed a fully-costed recovery plan, including an approved emergency funding package. This could enable the existing community centre to stabilise and rebuild, and allow Red Brick Building Centre to repay debts that have accrued as a direct result of pressures arising from the Life Factory project.

However, timing is now critical. Our final hope rests on the conclusion of the independent financial assessment, and on Somerset Council choosing to act in the best interests of the community by:

Not enforcing a full clawback on project that should not have proceeded without stronger due diligence, impact assessment, and oversight.
Recognising the distinction between the failed Life Factory project and the long-standing Red Brick Building community centre.
Supporting – rather than dismantling – a community asset that has successfully served Glastonbury, Street and surrounding areas for over a decade.
Working to secure the farmland for the Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre project and to re-start its funding. The farmland is an asset of Red Brick Building Centre, and therefore at risk of being sold if insolvency is determined. Without significant intervention, the cessation of the funding for the Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre project puts their staff team at immediate risk of losing their work and livelihoods.

As one long-standing tenant put it: “This isn’t about blaming those who stayed and tried to hold things together. It’s about recognising who paid the price when governance failed, communication broke down, and oversight didn’t intervene in time. The damage has been done quietly, to livelihoods and to a community.”

We await the conclusion of our independent financial assessment, and continue to do everything we can to save this long-standing community asset that has served the local community for so many years.