After calls to reverse plans for the LSi building in East Street, Bridport Area Development Trust (BADT), which owns it, has outlined why it has chosen the new plans.

The trust announced changes to Bridport LSi last month, which included a partnership between three tenants - Crowdfunder, new community interest company 3DCentre (3DC) and an unnamed financial services company.

These were met with criticism from some residents, who are calling for the "unsuitable" plans to be reversed, rejecting the proposals as a responsible use of the building.

A BADT spokesperson said: "The LSi is a historic building and costly to maintain. As a 'working building' it also requires technology and facilities that are up to date, safe and fully functional - everything from lifts for access for everyone to high-speed broadband.

"The cost of running the building with one staff member is £80,000 a year, though there have been no BADT/LSi paid staff in the LSi since April 2020.

"The trust wants the community to know the challenges that made it essential to appraise the LSi's position with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other major stakeholders, using independent feasibility studies, to achieve a realistic, sustainable solution.

"Everyone involved in the partnership wants to provide financial stability while staying true to the vision and principles upon which the building was regenerated.

"In the past year the trust has significantly reduced running costs and successfully applied for grants that have enabled the LSi to get through the Covid crisis. Without these grants the LSi would have gone under. But the building also needs a reliable income to survive in the long term."

The trust believes the partnership will:

1. Keep the building open - the combination of tenants will "ensure the LSi is sustainable and well-maintained during economically uncertain times"
2. Provide employment opportunities, support for business start-ups and mentoring for young people
3. Put Bridport "on the map" as a "vibrant, forward-looking hub for the development of personal and business skills relevant to the challenges of today's world"
4. Retain Crowdfunder's office in Bridport

Simon Deverell, cofounder of Crowdfunder, said: "We want to continue to make the LSi a thriving hub of creativity, social entrepreneurialism and community impact.

"Crowdfunder is fully committed to ensuring that our presence here continues to benefit and add value to the local community in Bridport."

1. 3DC, another of the tenants in the LSi, is a new project from Clive Stafford Smith, a local human rights lawyer, with an international reputation. It offers young people opportunities to become 3DC apprentices to learn how to design and build a better future in the context of human rights by environmental and economic justice. They will be supported by

• A schools programme highlighting 3DC's opportunities for students

• One-to-one mentoring, work experience, internships and apprenticeships

• Training to raise funds for projects in partnership with Crowdfunder

• More than 40 mentors with expertise in a range of fields

1. Keeping the LSi's doors open "making events, meeting and training spaces - including the atrium - and the desk spaces available both to those able to pay and not able to pay"
2. A minimum of six bookable public events a year
3. LSi open days with Dorset Architectural Heritage Week

The spokesman added: "The LSi was rescued from near-dereliction in 2009 and has been restored to an innovative role in the social, cultural and business life of the town.

"It has been a long and challenging journey, but it has always had the best interests of the community at its heart.

"The LSi is now better places to face the future and help to build an even better Bridport."

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