Latest news with #GlastonburyTownDeal
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chair of the Glastonbury Town Deal board resigns
The chair of the Glastonbury Town Deal board has resigned after a damning audit into a government-backed regeneration project in the town. The board has been overseeing 10 projects, delivered by Somerset Council and other organisations, funded by £23.6m from the government's Towns Fund. After an independent audit the council confirmed in May that it would not provide further funding towards the upgrade of the Red Brick Building C (also known as The Life Factory) - leaving local contractors in limbo and the work unfinished. Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, who chairs the advisory-only board, has now resigned from her position for "personal reasons", alongside another board member. In her resignation letter to council chief executive Duncan Sharkey, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Dr Sedgmore said: "I genuinely believe it is best for the board, in the context of continuing and increasing unsubstantiated public attacks on me, that I stand down." She added: "During my time as chair, I have willingly given considerable time, energy, skills, commitment and dedication to the effectiveness of the board. It has been a privilege to serve Glastonbury in this way. "There has been significant progress on all but one town deal project (The Life Factory), and the two projects completed this year have been a huge success. There are many more successes to come before final completion in March 2026. "I am on the receiving end of personal and professional attacks in the public domain suggesting financial impropriety. While the accusations are without foundation, this is damaging to the board as well as to myself. "My resignation is not connected to any form of inappropriate fiscal accountability, on my part or that of the board." Dr Sedgmore had served as chair since October 2021, following the death of original chairman Robert Richards. Kama McKenzie, a community representative who has sat on the board since its inception in 2020, has also resigned. Current vice chair and Glastonbury mayor Councillor Michael White will act as temporary chair. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the board said it was hopeful that additional funding could be secured urgently to complete the Life Factory project and pay outstanding creditors. A spokesman said: "Having read the SWAP report, we understand the rationale for this decision by the council as the accountable body. However, we remain very concerned about the impact this decision will have on our community." Somerset Council has previously said no more funds will be available for the Life Factory after the audit made clear that despite almost £3m being spent, the project cannot be delivered "in time with the Grant Funding Agreement". Duncan Sharkey, the council's chief executive, said the authority "accepts the [report's] findings that our level of oversight and monitoring could have been strengthened". Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. 'No more funds' for youth regeneration project 'Fiasco' youth regeneration project is paused 'Tangible' progress being made on £23m projects Red Brick Centre Glastonbury Town Deal Somerset Council Somerset Council
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Life Factory project: 'No more funds' after damning report
"No further funds" will be given by a council to a youth regeneration project after serious concerns were raised about leaders' financial Council froze funds to Glastonbury's Life Factory in January 2024, after bosses said they were not "able to adequately reconcile invoices" in grant claims with actual spend and progress on new leadership team at Red Brick Building Centre, which runs the site, said its "deeply disappointed" with an independent audit's findings, which highlighted a lack of accountability.A council spokesperson said the authority accepts that its level of oversight and monitoring "could have been strengthened". The report also warned the government could request its £2.89m back if officials decide the "terms of the grant have not been met".After the grant was halted in January, construction work stopped on site and several contractors were left workers told the BBC that they are owed tens of thousands of pounds. The Red Brick Building C project was previously awarded £2.89m from the government under the Glastonbury Town Deal (GTD) to develop a community space, mainly for young people. Spending of this money was being overseen by Somerset a South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) report has now concluded that it has "no assurance" that there were sound governance arrangements and financial controls in place at Red Brick Building Centre Ltd or Somerset regards to the Red Brick Building Centre, the report states: "We have seen no evidence of a delivery plan showing how the building will be delivered within budget, scope and on time."It said a condition of the grant funding was that match funding would be obtained, but this had not gone beyond gathering expressions of interest. 'Lack of accountability' The report explains that a subsidiary company called Beckery Construction was set up to keep costs down, but said the introduction of this company confused the relationship between all parties, leading to a breakdown in communication, poor governance and lack of report said: "The majority of control weaknesses in delivery lie with The Red Brick Building and Beckery Construction Company."At Beckery Construction, auditors found many standard HR processes were not followed, including no formal recruitment being in place sub-contractors, one employee didn't have a contract and timesheets were either incorrectly submitted or filled out at report said: "Financial controls such as budget monitoring and cash flow forecasting were not operating, no approval for expenditure was sought from the Red Brick building board, and financial records were not always accessible, complete or accurate".With regards to the council, the auditors said: "Grant payments were not processed in line with the Grant Funding Agreement."Given the complexity of the renovation of Building C and the values involved more assurances should have been sought by [them] that robust governance and oversight arrangements were in place and a competent and qualified project team were in place."The report pointed out that the government may now ask for its money back, if it feels that the terms of its grant have not been met. 'Deeply disappointed' In a statement posted on social media, the new leadership team at Red Brick report makes it clear this "was a collective failure" across all parties."While we deeply regret that the Life Factory will no longer be able to continue in its original form, we remain committed to learning from this experience and ensuring it is never repeated," they said.A former director of Beckery Construction and ex-member of the Red Brick board said the SWAP report "does not fully reflect the complexity, the good intentions, the actions taken, and the repeated efforts to gain clarity on the financial situation".It added that council representatives had frequent meetings with the project while the ex-director of Beckery was in post, he said the financial accounts for Life Factory were externally audited with "no serious concerns raised". Somerset Council has released a statement saying "no further funds" will be released to the council said the audit has made clear that despite almost £3m being spent on the Life Factory, "it cannot be successfully delivered in line with the Grant Funding Agreement, and it is therefore not clear if the project will ever be completed".Duncan Sharkey, the council's chief executive, said the authority "accepts the [report's] findings that our level of oversight and monitoring could have been strengthened".As a result, the council's management of other infrastructure projects have been reviewed. What happens now? The council said it is "not contractually responsible for any payments to contractors", but adds it does "understand the impact this is having on those with legitimate claims".Council bosses said they would continue to work with the Red Brick Building.A spokesperson for Red Brick Building Centre said they have "always had the community at the heart of this project and is the reason we took this project on"."And for these reasons, we called it into question and put a pause on the project at the beginning of 2024. "We are working very closely with Somerset Council to find a way through this, and our shareholder and creditors are our top priority," they council's audit committee will discuss the report at its meeting on Thursday.
BBC News
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Actor creates play to 'celebrate' Glastonbury van dwellers
An original theatre production to "celebrate" the New Traveller community is opening tonight. Maddie Wakeling, a van dweller and actor from Glastonbury, Somerset, will be performing Roadside at the Trinity Arts Centre in one-woman show, inspired by Ms Wakeling's own experiences along with a council calls for a ban on van dwellers, tells the story of a woman called Milly and her search for autonomy and a different kind of life."It's very rare that you have the opportunity to tell the story from the inside and say actually, this is how it is and this is our community," Ms Wakeling, 28, said. New Travellers is a term often used to describe people who choose to live nomadically. It also describes the community which came out of the free festival movement in the 1960s. Ms Wakeling said she began planning the show in 2023 following calls to ban roadside dwellers from living in unauthorised areas in Glastonbury. She said she chose to move into a van herself when she was 21 to allow her time to focus on her creative Lillith Osborn, leader of the Conservative group on Glastonbury Town Council, said recently she had received lots of complaints from some residents over issues such as anti-social behaviour to concerns about where people went to the said "van dwellers are not welcome in Glastonbury" and believes the town "reached saturation point some time ago".According to Somerset Council, there are about 300 people living by the roadside or in unauthorised encampments in and around the town. It has the highest density of van dwellers in the local authority wants to create a regulated site for dwellers, as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal. In response to the proposals, Ms Wakeling began holding discussions with members of the van dweller community to gather inspiration for the play. "I was really lucky to be able to sit down with a lot of people and chat, not just about what's happening now, but about all of the attempts to criminalise roadside dwellers that haven't worked before. "I think there's a lot of fearmongering and powerful narratives against multiple groups of people - it's definitely not just roadside dwellers - but a lot of headlines and stuff that gives a bad view towards some groups of people."The show isn't about the ban - it's a celebration of the community," she added. Ms Wakeling said she hopes the production will leave audience members reflecting on what home and belonging means to opens at the Trinity Centre on Friday night, before moving to The Cockpit Theatre in London on 4 April.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Theatre show to 'celebrate' van-dwelling community
An original theatre production to "celebrate" the New Traveller community is opening tonight. Maddie Wakeling, a van dweller and actor from Glastonbury, Somerset, will be performing Roadside at the Trinity Arts Centre in Bristol. The one-woman show, inspired by Ms Wakeling's own experiences along with a council calls for a ban on van dwellers, tells the story of a woman called Milly and her search for autonomy and a different kind of life. "It's very rare that you have the opportunity to tell the story from the inside and say actually, this is how it is and this is our community," Ms Wakeling, 28, said. New Travellers is a term often used to describe people who choose to live nomadically. It also describes the community which came out of the free festival movement in the 1960s. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Ms Wakeling said she began planning the show in 2023 following calls to ban roadside dwellers from living in unauthorised areas in Glastonbury. She said she chose to move into a van herself when she was 21 to allow her time to focus on her creative endeavours. Councillor Lillith Osborn, leader of the Conservative group on Glastonbury Town Council, said recently she had received lots of complaints from some residents over issues such as anti-social behaviour to concerns about where people went to the toilet. She said "van dwellers are not welcome in Glastonbury" and believes the town "reached saturation point some time ago". According to Somerset Council, there are about 300 people living by the roadside or in unauthorised encampments in and around the town. It has the highest density of van dwellers in the UK. The local authority wants to create a regulated site for dwellers, as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal. In response to the proposals, Ms Wakeling began holding discussions with members of the van dweller community to gather inspiration for the play. "I was really lucky to be able to sit down with a lot of people and chat, not just about what's happening now, but about all of the attempts to criminalise roadside dwellers that haven't worked before. "I think there's a lot of fearmongering and powerful narratives against multiple groups of people - it's definitely not just roadside dwellers - but a lot of headlines and stuff that gives a bad view towards some groups of people. "The show isn't about the ban - it's a celebration of the community," she added. Ms Wakeling said she hopes the production will leave audience members reflecting on what home and belonging means to them. It opens at the Trinity Centre on Friday night, before moving to The Cockpit Theatre in London on 4 April. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Are there too many van dwellers in Glastonbury? Council to meet as van-dweller numbers quadruple Van dwellers suffer as cost of living bites The Trinity Centre The Cockpit Theatre
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Are there too many van dwellers in Glastonbury?
There are about 300 people living by the roadside or in unauthorised encampments in and around Glastonbury, according to a Somerset Council report. Only Bristol has more in number, but Glastonbury has the highest density in the UK. The BBC has been speaking to van dwellers about why they live that lifestyle and have been finding out what Somerset Council is doing to create the regulated site it promised as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal. Luke Grossmith and his partner Jess Dane have been living in a van in Glastonbury for 18 months. They said it has enabled them to save the money to set up their own business, a therapy centre at the foot of Glastonbury Tor. Mr Grossmith said: "We are trying to find a way to do the most realistic and responsible means of living off-grid." Jess Dane said a regulated site is a "good idea", but added she does not "have that much confidence the council would take into account exactly what the van dwellers would want from that kind of set up". Deejay McCloud described himself as a "non bricks and mortar dweller" who has been homeless in this area since he was a young teenager. "I feel it's important for us to educate ourselves to know where we stand, regarding so-called illegal encampments, because it's our way forward to having a little bit of safety and security," he said. "The key to being a human being is having a safe, warm place to put your head." Mr McCloud said he would like to live on a regulated site, but first he said barriers need to be broken down between the community, the council and the police, as he feels that non bricks and mortar dwellers are often treated "as obstacles". Anette, 63, describes herself as a horse-drawn traveller and lives in a caravan on what she calls a "tolerated site". She said: "We don't believe in land ownership. [We have a] different mindset all together." Anette has been going to Glastonbury since the 1980s and runs shows with the horses in the Midlands in the summer before spending the winter in Glastonbury. She says she lives this lifestyle because she enjoys "the closeness to nature". "It's freedom fundamentally," she added. While some people live in vans and caravans peacefully, councillor Sue Osborn, who is the leader of the Conservative group, said she gets lots of complaints from tax payers covering issues from anti-social behaviour to concerns about where people go to the toilet. She said "van dwellers are not welcome in Glastonbury" and believes the town "reached saturation point some time ago". "It causes a great deal of problems because we have a lot of people living here who are not contributing" in terms of council tax, she said. "If you've got people taking out of the services without putting in, then you can't budget for it. You can't do anything." Adam Shepherd has been running Sweet Track Fitness on the Morland estate for nine years. "We're surrounded by mess, dumped caravans, vans, piles and piles of rubbish, dogs running around while not on a lead, dog excrement, human excrement and I've had threats as a business owner," he said. "I have no problems with how people want to live – whether it's out of choice or not. We all have hard times. But if that's how you want to live, that's great, but the rest of us have to pay taxes. We have to pay to have our rubbish taken, we don't just dump it to be collected and paid for by someone else." Some of the van dwellers have told the BBC the hostility goes both ways, and many of them are unhappy about the minority of van dwellers who do not manage their own rubbish, or who act in a way that might give all van dwellers a bad name. Artist Ady Szucik lives in a van when he works in Glastonbury. He said: "I've even had eggs thrown at my van. People tend to fear what they don't understand." He is asking people to be more understanding. "Think about why people are living like this. I do understand it. There are anti-social behaviours and there's as many reasons why people live like they do. Some are a bit unfortunate and that can overspill into the community. It's all about having respect to the community. It works both ways." Councillor Osborn has called on Somerset Council to build the regulated site with permanent pitches it first promised as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal in September 2022. The area has been given £1.4m from the government to make this happen on top of another £1.8m from other sources. She claimed Somerset Council is "dragging its feet". "It should be providing a proper site, with proper facilities, charging rent and charging council tax. And that way the problem would just disappear because those people would then become net inputters into the system," she said. Mike Rigby, the council's lead member for planning, economic development and assets, said: "We've tried to bust a gut to get this done. "Glastonbury has seen a huge influx of people living like this and there is a desire to see that formalised in a way that doesn't see people living in hedges and on riverbanks. "Somerset Council and Mendip Council before it have taken huge efforts to try to find space. "I think the problem is everyone in the area thinks there ought to be formal sites for housing these sites and caravans, but just not near them." Somerset Council said it had planned to build almost 40 pitches on land it owned at Porchestall Drove, until it realised the land flooded. Last summer, it bought an old coal yard in Beckery but councillor Rigby said work stalled when people occupied it and, as a result, the council has had to scale back its plans. Mr Rigby said: "It's not going to deal with the problem in its totality, but it will make a big dent in the issue as it exists in Glastonbury today." Somerset Council now has about a year to get the regulated site up and running or it may be asked to return the government money. Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Land for travellers' site could become solar farm Former factory could be sold for traveller use Factory owner fights to keep unofficial residents Somerset Council Glastonbury Town Deal Towns Fund
