Shrewsbury shopkeepers set to have their stores bulldozed as part of a £5 million regeneration scheme claim they are being made scapegoats for anti-social problems in the area.

The three traders in Moston Road, Harlescott, who have been asked to leave by August 31 to pave the way for an affordable housing project, say they are being unfairly blamed for the neighbourhood’s problems.

It comes the morning after firefighters were called to Moston Road after a fire on the playing fields.

The incident happened at 9.20pm yesterday and involved a small amount of rubbish in a burned-out car.

Sunil Patel, Sidhu Singh and Ian Davies are now calling on councillors to reject the planning application by Severnside Housing and have called for the shops to be included.

It comes after the shopkeepers reported Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council leader Peter Nutting to the standards committee over comments he made about the shops.

In a joint letter, the traders say: “We are angry because our shops are not to be included in the redevelopment plans. What has upset us more than anything is the accusation by the applicant that the shops create anti-social behaviour in this area.”

But Matthew Spittles, asset management director at Severnside, said the organisation had not blamed the shops for the area’s problems. He said: “The concerns about the presence of the shops were raised by local residents throughout the consultation process and we have acted on this feedback in our plans.”