Somerset Council is considering reviving the £1.3 million Glastonbury food and regenerative farming centre, a project initially abandoned in December 2025 amid controversy. The centre, originally part of a £23.6 million town deal, aims to provide a community-led agro-ecological hub on farmland south of Porchestall Drove, adjacent to the Sydenham Timber Centre and Bride’s Mound.
Designed as a space for learning and local food production, the facility received planning permission in October 2023. It would feature agricultural activities including crop cultivation, an herb garden, wetlands, a forest school, and infrastructure like a processing barn, training roundhouses, kitchens, offices, poly-tunnels, and composting toilets. The project also forms part of a broader town deal initiative linking several developments within Glastonbury’s Beckery Village area.
The centre’s suspension followed a scandal involving the Life Factory project and financial mismanagement related to the Red Brick Building Centre Ltd (RBBCL), which had received town deal funding. Following this, Somerset Council formally terminated the project and is currently seeking to recover misallocated funds identified by an internal audit.
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However, the council has allocated £150,000 from surplus town deal funds toward potentially restarting the farming centre, contingent on strict conditions — notably, the exclusion of RBBCL from involvement. Recently, Lambert Smith Hampton was appointed receiver to manage the farmland independently while council retains legal control, ensuring proper stewardship and safeguarding long-term public investment.
Jane Sharp, the council’s regeneration specialist for the Mendip area, emphasized the urgency of reallocating funds swiftly to enable contractors and grant recipients to finalise costs and complete builds within the next financial year, before the overall town deal programme concludes in March 2028.
While Somerset Council continues to support the project’s revival, it is also working collaboratively with RBBCL’s tenant recovery group to maintain the Red Brick Building, awaiting a viable recovery plan. The council has lodged a claim to recoup grant money related to the Life Factory project but has paused pursuing it to allow RBBCL an opportunity to demonstrate financial recovery.
This renewed push highlights the council’s commitment to maximizing investment benefits for Glastonbury and advancing a sustainable farming centre that supports local food and ecological education.