TEENAGERS in Rubery will finally have a place to meet their friends after council chiefs agreed to the installation of a new youth shelter.

Bromsgrove district councillor Peter McDonald (Lab-Waseley) reckons the authority's new chief executive, Sue Nixon, said she would like to see the youth shelter installed before the summer holidays.

"I had a meeting with the new chief executive as I wanted to get the youth shelter issue moving and I felt the council were stalling," he said.

The robust, metal shelter is being funded by West Mercia police and the district council at a cost of £6,000. It will be fixed in St Chad's Park.

Council officers have approved plans for two further youth shelters after a £12,000 government grant was secured by the Bromsgrove Community Safety Partnership.

They will be installed in the playing fields along St Kenelms Road, Romsley, and another in Rubery and it is hoped they will help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in these areas.

Councillor June Griffiths, (Con-Alvechurch) cabinet member responsible for leisure, said: "The aim of the shelters is to act as a focal point for young people and give them an area where they can meet their friends in safety away from the elements."

She later added: "We are constantly striving to increase facilities for younger people throughout the district."

The grant has come from the crime reduction and social inclusion unit of the Government Office, West Midlands.