A former bingo club and cinema which faced the prospect of being knocked down has got a new lease of life and will provide entertainment for the community for decades to come.

The site in Bournemouth on Wimborne was placed on the market and residents feared developers would acquire the site and bulldoze it to the ground. However it was purchased for £1m by Bournemouth Community Church and transformed into life centre with hundreds of people coming through the doors each week. In addition to the purchase price around £1.25m has been spent on the building with a stylish Art Deco-inspired interior. The Church owners use the site for their 600 worshippers on Sundays and for meetings and events.

Conversion of the main hall into a 1,000-seater venue means that is can now be used as a theatre and concert venue for the first time.

Direct Theatre will be performing Alice in Wonderland there in March, while the Bournemouth Philharmonic Orchestra will put the venue’s impressive acoustics through their paces with three performances throughout the year.

The local university will also be holding its regional film festival in May and there will be a concert by the London Community Gospel Choir in December.

Operations and events manager, Greg Rawlings, commented: “We were looking for a new home for Bournemouth Community Church for such a long time and when this came up, it seemed unbelievable.

“It’s right in the heart of the community which is perfect because, first and foremost, that’s our main audience.

“Now we want to let people know that we are here and what we can offer.”