A group of Tottenham businesses claim they are being excluded from plans to regenerate the area.

Members of the Tottenham Businesses Group are fighting plans by Haringey Borough Council to demolish their shops in High Road.

According to the council’s High Road West proposals, the shops opposite White Hart Lane stadium will be destroyed to make way for a fan walkway from White Hart Lane train station.

Alex Tryfonos, the group’s chairman, says the authority did not give the shop owners a say in the decision to demolish their shops.

He said: “We survived the riots and the recession and we have the right to be here.

“My father has owned this store since 1976, we have been here for over 30 years and the council did not even speak to us before they decided to destroy our shops.

“The plans were done and decided before any consultations and now they want us to choose from three options which all see our shops gone – we don’t want that.”

The business group has presented a petition signed by more than 4,000 people from the community to a cabinet meeting on Thursday, November 28.

It has also called for a meeting with the council to discuss an option for Tottenham’s High Road regeneration which allows their shops to remain where they are.

Mr Tryfonos, who run Chick King restaurant in High Road, added: “Regeneration is not about providing a football venue or boosting land values to justify an investment.

“We have been in Tottenham through the good times and the bad and we have a right to profit from the regeneration.

“The council should not be acting like a corporation which is trying to kick us off our prime real-estate so it can make the most profit.”

The restaurant owner said regeneration should not be about moving the existing community out so more ‘upmarket’ people can move in.

A council spokesman said: “We’re committed to listening to the concerns of traders – which is why we’ve set up a dedicated Business Steering Group in High Road West to discuss their views.

“Residents have told us they want to see a better mix of shops and businesses that provide more jobs for local people on a flourishing High Road, and we share their ambitions.

“We want to encourage more high street businesses to make Tottenham their home and work with existing traders to offer a wider choice to shoppers and meet local demands.”