Plans are in place to open small independent shops inside the old Marks and Spencer building in Dorchester before it becomes a hotel.

Business owner Martin Green has secured the short term lease of the South Street building - which is set to become a Premier Inn - and plans to create around 10 self-contained ‘starter shops’ inside.

He is working in partnership with the charity U think and with the support of Dorchester Town Council to breathe new life into the building.

Mr Green, who runs two shops in the county town, wants to give budding shop owners a chance to test out their retail ideas in a subsidised and supported way.

The shops emporium would also help regenerate central Dorchester, he says, which has suffered the loss of several stores from the town centre recently, including Clintons and M&Co.

It is estimated there will be between 12 and 18 months to make use of the building before it becomes a hotel - giving the shops a chance to trade for at least a year and see if they can make it work.

Mr Green has run Dorchester Curiosity Centre on the Grove Trading Estate for 12 years and Martin Green Interiors on High West Street for three years.

He said: “I was wandering around Dorchester town centre back in March and I photographed all the empty shops and I had a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it.

“The town council said ‘what do you think we should do?’ and we had the idea we should use one of the bigger empty shops to give a lot of people a chance.

“A few weeks back it all slowly came to fruition and we got offered the use of the site.”

Mr Green said he hopes the pop-up shops idea will appeal to those who would love to run their own business but ‘are being cautious in the current climate’.

“Retail is not easy whichever way you look at it and this is an opportunity for people to dip their toe in the water,” he said.

Potential shopkeepers will be offered pro-bono support to negotiate the lease, Mr Green said, and the key criteria is that they are ‘independent’ and ‘something the town needs more of’.

“It’s really about independent artisan shops giving Dorchester something a little bit different.

“We need to be mindful of the space and what can be achieved in the space so something like a restaurant or cafe wouldn’t work but something like an old fashioned sweet shop could.”

Local businesses are being called upon to able to donate supplies, materials and equipment to help create the temporary shops.

Mr Green said: “I’m looking at timber, boarding, fixings, cabling, plug sockets, paint – that kind of thing.

“If you are able to be one of our ‘supporters’ you will be contributing to an amazing opportunity to regenerate central Dorchester. A vibrant town centre means a strong wider community,” he said.

A number of businesses are already onboard, Mr Green said, and as a minimum, a list of contributing businesses will be shown in the window of the building.

Anyone who can help donate supplies, materials and equipment to create the shops should email independentdorchester@gmail.com