BUS shelters in Malvern are set for an overhaul, following a meeting of the town council's planning and transportation committee.

Members decided to refurbish the shelter in Barnards Green and set up a working party to find a cheaper solution to the replacement of the Claremont House shelter in Church Street.

They also plan to demolish the derelict war memorial shelter at Link Top and replace it with a tree and commemorative plaque.

Operation manager Richard Chapman said the Barnards Green bus shelter had become a meeting place for 'undesirable elements of society'. He said it was being used as a dumping ground for litter and human waste, as well as a place for people sleeping rough.

A previous refurbishment did not include work to the inside and the floor has lost its glaze, making it impossible to clean.

Mr Chapman said the long, low seating encouraged people to stay for a long time, leaving little room for those waiting for buses.

Members decided to replace the floor and seating, using individual 'button' seats painted red and green to symbolise poppies. The shelter is adjacent to the war memorial.

The link top bus shelter, unused for some time, has been replaced by a new shelter nearby. Members decided to demolish the old shelter, replacing it with a red maple tree as a memorial to the war dead. Once the tree is planted, a decision will be made what to do with the remembrance plaque originally installed on the shelter in the 1950s.

Finally, a working party of four members was set up to examine options for replacing the Church Street bus shelter at less than the current estimation of £27,000. The 2002/2003 budget provision for the replacement of the shelter is £15,000.