On the 1st August 2009 Richard Reeve set up Friends of the Leas Lift with three ideas in mind

1. To take on a Lease at a peppercorn rent
2. To work with the Radnor Estate to gift the lift to Folkestone
3. If 1 & 2 above failed to provide assistance to a third party who succeeded in obtaining a lease as long as they were either a charity or Community Interest Company

The intention was to set up a Charitable Trust to negotiate and manage the lift but on advice from similar organisations a Not For Profit Community Interest Company was the vehicle.