A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Somerset Council spent nearly £2.4m on Glastonbury's Life Factory project despite missing paperwork, no direct contract with the builder, and repeated warnings about weak oversight.

The £2.89m scheme, part of Glastonbury's £23.6m Town Deal, was meant to deliver a new creative hub at the Red Brick Building. But today Building C remains incomplete, local contractors are unpaid, and the council is facing difficult questions over how the money was managed.

Explained: How Glastonbury's £3m Life Factory project unravelled — and what happens next

Approved before the builder existed

One of the most striking disclosures is that the project was signed off before Beckery Construction — the company later responsible for delivery — even existed. All due diligence was carried out only on Red Brick Building Centre Ltd, the parent organisation and grant recipient.

Despite this, Beckery went on to receive millions in public money. Somerset Council never had a direct contract with the company.

Audit warnings went unheeded

By late 2023, the South West Audit Partnership had already flagged serious concerns. Its review found documentation was "incomplete or missing" and said Red Brick needed to strengthen its control over Beckery to meet the terms of the funding agreement.

Yet large sums continued to be released. Records show £475,000 paid in November 2023 and £584,000 in December 2023. In total, £2,393,664.71 has been spent to date, covering consultancy, planning fees, stabilisation works and major construction costs.

Funding freeze — but more payments followed

Somerset Council paused payments in January 2024. But even after the freeze, two more instalments were authorised later that year to cover structural works on foundations and shared walls between Buildings B and C. The council said this was to allow tenants to return and the event space to reopen.

No recovery action yet

The FOI shows no evidence of legal recovery or regulatory involvement. Somerset Council has confirmed that clawing back funds is under consideration, but no action has yet been taken.

Council response in full

When pressed by Nub News on why payments continued, what action is being taken to recover funds, and whether other Glastonbury Town Deal projects are at risk, Somerset Council said:

"Although action was taken to pause payments once concerns first came to light, we did later authorise two payments during 2024. These related to work rebuilding foundations and shared walls where Buildings B & C meet, allowing tenants to move back in and the event space to reopen.

"Options appraisal work is underway to consider next steps.

"Somerset Council is not responsible for any payments to contractors engaged in The Life Factory project as contractually these are matters for the Red Brick Building Centre Limited. Nevertheless, we understand the impact this is having on those with legitimate claims, a number of whom are local. We continue to work with the Red Brick Building to support their consideration of the next steps for this project and with the Glastonbury Town Deal Board about the overall town deal programme."

"We took 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."