Community group Enterprise St Michael’s welcomed its 500th shareholder last week, who was presented with a special plaque and gift to mark the occasion.

The latest shareholder is David Greenshields of Chideock.

The not-for-profit organisation is proposing a series of fundraising activities to help secure community ownership status at St Michael’s Trading Estate and to restore and expand on the town centre site which supports jobs for over 200 people.

Andrew Leppard, director, said: “We are delighted that the community is really getting behind our scheme.

“That goes a long way towards underpinning the basis for attracting investment to this site of great regeneration potential.

“It would ultimately help create more jobs, instead of losing them to the disastrous urban housing scheme proposed.

“We have been consulting with many national organisations who are very keen to see Enterprise St Michael’s scheme go ahead.” He added: “The greatest hurdle we face though is that until the landowner is willing to negotiate an alternative way forward, we are locked into a culture of deterioration and great uncertainty for the 92 businesses on the estate.”

More information about the society is available to members of the public from the Bridport Tourist Information Centre and Bridport Arts Centre.

People can also get information at The Beach and Barnicott and from the Red Brick Cafe on the estate.