During a recent Glastonbury Town Council meeting, contractors involved in the stalled renovation of Glastonbury's Red Brick Building have demanded answers regarding months of unpaid work.

R4 Scaffolding, responsible for much of the scaffolding on the project, revealed they, along with other contractors, are still waiting for payment. The prolonged delays have severely impacted their business and employees, leaving them in financial distress. Addressing the town council at their most recent meeting, the R4 representative expressed the company's growing desperation over the lack of communication about the project's financial turmoil, which has led to significant losses.

"We are owed a large amount of money, and it's not just affecting us as a company—it's affecting our employees," he said. "We've kept turning up and putting up scaffolding, assuming our invoices would be paid, but that hasn't happened."

He also criticised the unsafe conditions on-site, which had caused some workers to refuse to return. "We've had to keep parts of the scaffolding up because they haven't supported one of the walls properly, and the state of the site is unacceptable," he added. "We just want to know where the money's gone."

Another contractor, Jeremy, added weight to the accusations, claiming severe financial mismanagement by those overseeing the project. Jeremy, who had been involved from the start when funding was provided through the government's Accelerator Fund, revealed that by the end of 2023, more than £400,000 remained in the budget, and the building was on track to be sealed and completed by June 2024.

"We were six months ahead of schedule, and then suddenly everything stopped," he said. "I don't know what's happened to that money, but at least 40 people haven't been paid."

The meeting saw a strong response from Councillor Lili Osborne, who, alongside Councillor Rik Cook, tabled a motion calling for the immediate release of an independent audit of the Life Factory project. The audit, commissioned by Somerset Council, has been delayed, leaving contractors and councillors in the dark about the project's financial standing.

"We need transparency," Osborne declared. "This town was promised so much from the Town Deal, but right now, it seems like a lot of that money has been wasted."

Nine months ago, the Red Brick Building project was flagged as a concern by Somerset Council, leading to a pause in funding and the commissioning of an independent audit. The town council's unanimous vote in favour of Osborne's motion now calls for the audit's findings to be made public as soon as possible.

Glastonbury's mayor, Councillor Lokabee Lokabandhu, echoed the calls for answers, stating: "People want answers, and they deserve them. This project has become a symbol of wasted potential, and it's time we get to the bottom of it."

With tensions running high, the town council awaits the audit's release, which they hope will uncover what went wrong with the Red Brick Building and prevent similar issues in other key Town Deal projects, such as St Dunstan's House and Tor Leisure.