The team behind a controversial new vision for a local landmark says it will ‘help to build an even better Bridport’.

After calls to reverse plans for the Literary and Scientific Institute (LSi) in East Street, owners the Bridport Area Development Trust (BADT) have outlined why it has chosen to go in this direction.

The plan for the use of the LSi in East Street was announced last month. It will see the building host three tenants - Crowdfunder, 3DCentre (3DC) and an unnamed financial services company.

But moves to bring in new tenants have been met with criticism amid fears the facility will no longer be accessible to the community.

Opposition has been led by Chasing Cow Productions - a west Dorset arts and filmmaking collective - which has published a response to the plans and has been collecting signatures. It feels the BADT’s decision ‘must be reversed’.

The BADT has responded, outlining a number of benefits it believes the plans will deliver. This includes keeping the building open, providing employment opportunities for the local workforce, support for business start-ups, mentoring for ambitious young people from all backgrounds and ‘putting Bridport on the map as a vibrant, forward-looking hub for the development of personal and business skills’.

The LSi has reduced running costs at the site over the past year and successfully applied for grants, without which the BADT don’t believe the LSi would have been able to survive. The new plans reflect the BADT’s ‘desire for the building to bring in a reliable income to survive in the long term’.

A spokesman for BADT said: “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.

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

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