THE owner of a new antique shop in Wellington wants to help make the town “what it used to be” and bring back “the old days.”

Nick Magnum, owner of Nick Nacks Antique Centre in Clifton House, Mantle Street, is keen to establish Wellington as a key destination for second-hand shoppers.

The new antique centre is set to open this coming Saturday (September 28) and will run alongside Nick’s second site in Kentisbeare.

Nick Nacks anticipates the arrival of TV stars Irita Marriot, Adam Partridge and Paul Martin in the coming months for valuations that the owners hope will attract more visitors.

Nick and his partner, Jan, are based in Wellington. He hopes the establishment of the antique centre in the town may encourage and inspire others to do similar ventures.

He said: “I’d like to turn Wellington into the Honiton that used to be.

“We’re five minutes off the motorway, if that. You could come to all of the available second-hand shops and get a good van full of stuff.

“We’ve probably got more places here now selling this type of stuff than a lot of other places, you know? We need to push that on a bit if we can.”

Wellington recently hosted its ninth eat:Festival in the streets of the town and Nick hopes to push for an antiques fair of a similar nature, but he said he was uncertain the locals would accept further road closures.

He said: “It’s something to keep talking to the council about.

“Maybe, if we can’t close the street, can we close one of the car parks and use a car park as an antiques fair once a year?”

Through such events, Nick says he is keen to lend a hand in preserving the unique community spirit in Wellington that he says has been lost from his hometown.

“We still have a community spirit here,” he said.

“It would be nice to try and keep that here if we can. We are on the border of losing it.”

Nick Nacks Antique Centre opens on September 28.