HIGH-RISE pensioners are to be given a new outlook on life.

The problem-hit 16 storey Glastonbury House, Middlesbrough, is to be given an overhaul after the findings of a structural survey.

All 96 Middlesbrough Borough Council flats are to have their windows replaced, while the roof of the Priestfields tower block is to be re-water proofed, extending the building's life expectancy by another 20 years.

The work will cost about £600,000. A council spokesman said: "The cabinet agreed to seek a contractor for work on Glastonbury House in east Middlesbrough, via a partnership arrangement.

"This means selection will be based not just on price, but also on quality.

"The partnership approach has already been pioneered by the council through the extension to the Dorman Museum.''

He said the structural survey highlighted a number of problems.

"Various external structural and general defects were identified, as was a need to replace the windows with uPVC windows and re-waterproof the roof,'' he said.