'A real opportunity': Hall to be demolished in plans for former church site

The site, which has in more recently been used for morning teas after Anzac Day marches, sold in July last year.

Plans to renovate the St Andrews Anglican Church building - believed to be more than 100 years old - and convert it into a two-bedroom home have been submitted to Warrnambool City Council's planning department.

"The building's heritage nature required special attention, and certain elements needed to be carefully considered and retained to keep its charm and character," the application says.

"The facade and side elevations of the building will remain largely the same, with new openings, roofs, and additional features such as a bathroom and laundry, in order to give the building a new lease of life and a new purpose after being unused for quite some time."

The neighbouring hall will be demolished to make way for the extension.

But what the adjoining land - which is used for parking during the annual Carols by the Merri and on Anzac Day - will be used for is not included in the plans submitted to the council.

Dennington Community Association president John Harris said he wasn't surprised the hall would go and said the church could be made into a nice house.

He said the community group was lucky to be able to use it for their meeting for next to nothing until it was sold.

Mr Harris said it was once owned by the Nestle factory and used for training sessions before Fonterra took it over.

Last year it was sold to a private buyer.

Mr Harris said it was frustrating the council had been offered the church and hall years ago but passed on the chance to turn it into a community hub.

He said it would have been a good location for the council's proposed community hub that the council had flagged in 2020.

"It was a real opportunity to put it there," he said.

"We would really like to get the hub so we could get the memorabilia room. We've got more than 150 years of history sitting in storage."

Mr Harris said he still expected to eventually have to move the Carols by the Merri Christmas event if the rest of the site was turned into housing.

He said he had spoken to the school about moving it there, or potentially at the recreation reserve.

"It's a bit hard to call it carols by the Merri if it's not at the Merri River," he said.