Interest in co-op to save Dennington General Store 'heartening'

Long-time Dennington resident Richard Ziegeler said there had been strong interest from community members about being involved but hoped even more people joined the cause.

"There has been plenty of interest, we need more. Clearly the more we get, the less the shares will cost," Mr Ziegeler said.

"It's actually quite heartening that we've got that response."

Mr Ziegeler, who is behind the push, said he had spent part of this week organising the section 32 with real estate agents, and was talking to an accountant.

He is doing it as a resident and not in his capacity as a Warrnambool City councillor.

To purchase the business and land it would cost $440,000, but to form a co-op they need to come up with enough for the deposit, Mr Ziegeler said.

Store owners, Tom and Jenny Bertrand, are set to soon retire but so far have had no luck selling it.

So instead of seeing it shut the doors, there are moves to form a community co-op to keep it operational - much like the Wangoom community did to save its store about 17 years ago.

The shop itself has been operating in Dennington for "well over a century", Mr Bertrand said.

As other smaller towns around the south-west started to lose their local shops, the Wangoom community dug deep in 2004 to keep the 140-year-old store operational.

About 32 residents opted to by a $2500 or $5000 share in the co-op, raising $140,000 which helped secure a loan to buy the property which has thrived ever since.

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