BUSINESS in Wellington is at a reported low, and owners of long-standing establishments fear they may not survive.

Fern Perry, current manager of Fore Street’s H T Perry, Son & Granddaughter says business has been slow for about a year, but that it is only getting worse.

Fern said: “I don't think it's just us; I think it's a lot of businesses. I think the high street's just dying.

“People are just not spending as much. I think they're spending online as well - we're all guilty of that - and so they just don't think to come here.

“You know, somebody said to me the other day, they named a couple of shops and then said oh, I don't know what we'd do without you four shops, and I said, well, I think you are going to find out.”

The Fore Street hardware shop has been around for three generations, having been founded in 1960 by Howard Perry. Granddaughter Fern says she is well aware of the legacy she is responsible for upholding.

“There's nothing worse than thinking I've got a 65-year-old business that I might not be able to maintain. I mean, I'm not the only business in town that's been open for years and years.

“I mean, at the end of the day, there are going to be at least some of us in this town that aren't going to survive.

“But yeah, it's definitely scary to think that Dad and Grandad made it amazing and to try not to feel like I'm the one that's ruined it.”

The owners of Wellington’s Cheese and Wine Shop say they have been facing similar issues.

Located on South Street, the Cheese and Wine Shop was first established by Peter and Geraldine Orr in 1986, from whom the current owners Paul de Ruyter and his wife Clare bought the delicatessen in 1998.

Clare said: “I mean, it is quieter, definitely quieter.

“It would be nice if more people came into the centre of Wellington to shop and use the facilities that are here. And the more things we have in Wellington for people to come to the better.

“I think the fewer and fewer shops that you have for people to come in and do anything in Wellington will have a knock-on effect for everybody.”

Paul added: “You know, a lot of places have got free parking to go shopping. We don't have that.

“We’ve also lost our banks. The banking hub is fine but people used to come into town to do their banking which they do less of now. And the medical centre is further out of town, so we miss out on the hundreds or possibly even thousands of people that would come for prescriptions and things like that.

“But that's a long time gone. The town centre is not what it was, but you've just got to adapt, that's the thing.

“Our outlook is broadly positive, but it is definitely fair to say that the climate is more challenging.

“It's definitely a sign of the times.”