Leaders of Glastonbury's Red Brick Building have warned the charity could collapse within weeks — blaming the failed Life Factory Town Deal project for draining finances, damaging its reputation, and pushing staff to breaking point.

In a six-page public statement, the board said it was forced to use core reserves to pay wages and contractors after funding for the Life Factory was paused in January. That money never returned.

"The Glastonbury Town Deal Life Factory project did not merely stretch the organisation — it exhausted it," trustees said.

They now face potential insolvency if Somerset Council demands full repayment of Town Deal grant money — and have called on the authority to halt clawback, back emergency funding, and protect other projects legally tied to Red Brick.

'We are days from collapse'

The statement paints a picture of a once-thriving community hub now in crisis. Income has crashed. Tenants are rattled. Volunteers are burnt out. Staff have faced "immense and prolonged strain". And a linked project — the Glastonbury Food and Regenerative Farming Centre — is now shut down, with £115,715 being clawed back.

"Red Brick's reputation has been seriously damaged — not only by the situation itself, but by inaccurate or misleading narratives circulating publicly," the board said.

They insist the Life Factory was structurally separate but reabsorbed to access Town Deal funding. The move, they claim, brought obligations without control.

Call for council to 'stop punishing' Red Brick

Trustees have urged Somerset Council to:

• Drop full clawback tied to the failed Life Factory
• Support the Red Brick Building's recovery
• Protect remaining staff and community assets
• Separate legal structure from day-to-day operations

"This isn't about blaming those who stayed and tried to hold things together," the board said. "It's about recognising who paid the price when governance failed, communication broke down, and oversight didn't intervene in time."

They added that no staff, trustees or directors had been subject to any investigation, and rejected rumours of financial impropriety.

Clock ticking on closure decision

A financial review is under way. Trustees say their "final hope" now rests on Somerset Council's decision in early 2026.

The Life Factory project was officially terminated in November after scathing audits exposed lack of oversight, missing paperwork, and £2.3m spent without a delivery plan or site inspections. A police investigation is ongoing.

Somerset Council's Full Council will meet on Tuesday, 17 January to consider the statutory recommendation. The Audit Committee follows on Monday, 22 January.

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