THE Harbour House residential care home in George Street, West Bay, is asking to remove concrete balcony walls and replace them with glass balustrades.

The walls and handrails, built in the 1970s, have been found to be defective and need replacing to improve safety and the look of the building, according to an application to Dorset Council. It says there are both horizontal and vertical cracks developing as a result of the reinforcing metalwork inside the structures breaking down.

Work will also be carried out on the balcony floors at the same time.

The south west and north west sides of the building are included in the planning application to Dorset Council.