Deputy leader cleared of conflict of interest after chief's apology

DA YY

- DANIEL MUMBY Local democracy journalist

THE deputy leader of Somerset Council has been cleared of having any conflict of interest relating to a failed regeneration project in Glastonbury.

The Red Brick Building, located on Morland Road in Glastonbury, has been the subject of significant building work as part of the £23.6m Glastonbury town deal, with the derelict ‘Building C’ being transformed into community events space, offices, and other facilities (known as the ‘Life Factory’). The project has been beset by problems, with the council having to ‘pause’ the government-provided grant funding in January 2024 (though some was later used to pay apprentices) and Beckery Construction Company Ltd., the company set up to deliver the £2.89m project, collapsing into liquidation in early-November.

The council's chief executive Duncan Sharkey publicly apologised on Tuesday, December 9, for the council’s handling of the Life Factory project, after an audit by Grant Thornton described the project's governance as “wholly inadequate”.

The auditors concluded that the project had “inadequate” governance and risk management, that payments were “not processed in line with the grant funding agreement” and that “no meaningful checks were carried to confirm completion of works” They added that the management of the project had “serious weaknesses” in its governance, with officers having “very limited oversight and support”.