Two of Shrewsbury’s oldest riverside buildings should be listed in order to protect them from the bulldozers, a town civic society has claimed.

Fears have been raised about both The Stew and The Old Maltings in Frankwell Quay which are said to be falling into a state of disrepair and could be infested with rats.

Shrewsbury Civic Society has now written to English Heritage in a bid to get the sites listed to protect them.

Karen Lloyd, secretary and development officer for the society, said: “We tried to have them listed about four years ago and at the time it was decided that neither could be listed because there was not enough evidence to suggest how old they were.

“Since then various documentation has come to light.

“They are an important part of the town’s history and the story of the River Severn and how Frankwell served as a port.”

Ms Lloyd said the significance of the two buildings could be proved through historical documents, including a survey by Thomas Telford in 1832, which shows the existence of The Stew and other evidence which proves the existence of the The Old Maltings.

Moves to try and get the sites listed follows calls from Councillor Judith Williams, borough ward member for Frankwell, to have compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) slapped on them by the new unitary authority.

Ms Lloyd said: “A CPO would be fantastic and it would mean someone, somewhere wants to do something with them.”