A LARGE community space has opened, offering a 'shell' for people with creative ideas, including performing arts and other artistic pursuits.

Martin Jones officially opened The Factory Space at the old vintage emporium in Christchurch Road in October after it had been refurbished earlier this year.

The venue includes a café run by Martin's husband, Andrew, who will be baking cakes, bread and his renowned lemon meringue pie.

Martin said: "It's amazing how we can transform the space for so many different uses.

"We call it The Factory Space, and the whole narrative I am trying to push is providing a shell for people to use how they like.

"The building is industrial, so it's big, but doesn't leak and we've had underfloor heating put in, so it gets really warm."

Since its opening, The Factory has already hosted a number of creatives, including a theatre company putting on a concert, an art exhibition by Lianne Issa, open mic nights, dog training and craft classes, and holistic fairs.

Part of the space is set aside for tabletop games like Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. The same area will also serve as a studio for dance rehearsals and a dressing room for larger productions.

Martin said: "As long as its legal and you're not hurting anyone, we are up for anything."

Martin is pushing for the venue to accommodate accessibility needs, adding: "We want everyone to feel included.

"One of our volunteers is a wheelchair user, but that hasn't stopped her from volunteering.

"She has given us a lot of information about accessibility and just been on the ball with making sure that we're up to date with what the latest information is."

The venue hosts a theatre company called The Dot Collective, which is relocating from London to Bournemouth.

Martin said: "The company put on shows for people with dementia.

"They're finding that it also suits high-functioning kids on the spectrum because it's such a short show.

"They also explain the characters to the audience so they can understand that the characters are acting."

Martin and his husband funded the venture themselves with help from a team of around 30 volunteers.

"We are very fortunate to have so many people willing to help," Martin said.

"Everyone just plays to their strengths, but we give people scope and training to figure out what they are comfortable doing.

"So it's a really diverse, really broad spectrum thing that we're doing at the space and the people who volunteer their time where they can."