REPLACING a crumbling town centre bus shelter could cost Malvern taxpayers up to £20,000.

Town councillors were told "you can't put a premium on health and safety" as they agreed to the demolition and replacement of the Claremont House shelter in Church Street.

The Council was warned in a report five months ago that the shelter presented a potential health and safety hazard.

A demand for action were led by Coun Chris Lennard, in a letter to the authority.

He said if demolition was "a matter of some urgency" five months ago, it was more so now, regardless of concerns over cost.

"The Council recently voted to spend £1,465.55 for extra links to be added to the mayoral chain, which some might consider to be frivolous expenditure compared to this item," he said.

At last week's planning and transportation committee meeting, Coun Keith Smith: "It may well be our insurance company is prepared to cover us if anything happened but if the top falls on somebody, what kind of publicity is that going to give the Town Council?"

Town clerk Stuart McDonough said Malvern Hills District Council had inspected the shelter but said it did not qualify as a "dangerous structure".

He said the problem was with crumbling concrete and bits falling off.

"If someone gets hit by them it could be a serious injury, particularly if it's an elderly person or a child," he warned.

Mr McDonough said closing the shelter would result in people having to walk in the road, which presented its own problems.

"Anyone who looks at the shelter can see it is in a very poor state indeed and it must be replaced," he said.

Mr McDonough said one of the key points delaying the project was establishing whether any part of the shelter or wall was in private hands, as the wall is attached to the Claremont House Pharmacy.

He added that as the structure is in the Great Malvern Conservation Area, any proposals must first be discussed with the district council's conservation officer.

Mr McDonough told members the project could not be handled by town council staff because of pressure of work and should be contracted out.

He said he had identified a contractor - Curtains Consulting Engineers of Cardiff - prepared to do the work on a fixed fee basis, but asked councillors to formally note the project could cost as much as £15,000 to £20,000. He said realistically it was unlikely to be completed before the spring.

Members agreed to invoke the Council's "urgency procedures" to avoid having to take the issue to further meetings, appointed contractor, authorised the clerk to take "all necessary actions to expedite the matter", formally noted the cost range and established a working party to draw up designs.