A "lockdown" security system and upgraded reception area could be installed in Bath's Guildhall.

A planning application to refurbish the entrance lobby to the Grade I listed building, which houses Bath and North East Somerset Council, has been submitted by the council.

The refurbishment would see a new digital display in the place of the current reception desk, with a new "white faux stone" front desk to the left of the front door.

The orange walls of the entrance lobby would also be repainted in "a palette of stone colours," which the council say will better reflect the character of the building.

But the refurbishment is also about bolstering the building's security.

In the design and access statement submitted with the planning application, the council said: "Being an important iconic building in Bath, the possibility of a serious security breach is to be considered."

Currently, security guards are in place at the building but the planning application proposes going further and installing hidden electronic bolts inside the double doors within the building, which could be activated to "lock down" the building.

The doors are not original fixtures of the Georgian building, and are only believed to have been installed after the 1972 Guildhall fire.

It would not be the first time that Bath had a Guildhall with security measures built-in. Before the current Georgian building was built in 1778, older versions of the Guildhall contained an armoury where pikes, halberds, and bows and arrows were stored for the city's defence.

Consultation on the planning application will run until March 30.