Somerset Council seeks to ‘recover’ millions from failed regeneration project

A Funding for the Life Factory project was formally paused in January 2024 after serious concerns were raised about how it was being run.

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00:00A funding for the Life Factory project was formally paused in January 2024 after serious

00:08concerns were raised about how it was being run. In May 2025, the South West Audit Partnership

00:15issued a highly critical assessment of the project's management. Somerset Council now

00:21say they will attempt to recover the public money tied to the troubled scheme. Beccary Construction

00:27Company Limited, the firm created to deliver the £2.89 million regeneration scheme, collapsed in

00:34early November. According to Glastonbury Nub News, the company owed more than £686,000 to 26 local

00:43creditors. The council says it is cooperating with an ongoing Avon and Somerset Police investigation

00:50and is exploring ways to recover money linked to the project. Concerns first emerged in May 2025.

00:572004, when local residents reported that bricklayers, carpenters, roofers, plumbers, joiners and labourers

01:04working on the site had not been paid since March. Tensions escalated at a full council meeting

01:10in March 2025. In September, Taunton resident Brenda O warned councillors that taxpayers could

01:18be left with a loss of up to £2.4 million if the Ministry for Housing, Communities and local

01:24governments sought to reclaim funding spent on the scheme. A spokesperson said we are considering

01:31the next steps regarding the Life Factory project under the Glastonbury Town deal. This is a complex

01:38matter and we are working through a series of actions to protect public funds and manage risks.