The firm trying to take over Shoreham Airport is expected to meet council staff to finalise the deal this week.

Senior councillors hope urgent talks can put an end to the confusion surrounding the site, whose previous owners went bust last month.

Businesses based at the airport have demanded guarantees the airfield will not be asset-stripped and used for housing.

The Argus has been told the future of the airport is safe until 2041.

The Erinaceous Group, which owned the lease on the airport, went into administration last month with debts of more than £250 million and the airport was closed for a day.

Another company called Albemarle, run by former Erinaceous employee Geoff Egan, stepped in as a buyer and is in negotiation with Brighton and Hove City Council and Worthing Borough Council, who own the freehold on the land, over its plans for the future.

Shoreham Airport Operators' Association, which is made up of people running businesses at the airport, believes the links between the companies could signal trouble.

Last Thursday the group wrote an open letter to Scott Marshall, acting director of cultural services at Brighton and Hove City Council. They want to ensure Albemarle is able to fulfil its commitments under the terms of the lease.

It said: "Recent events have effectively put a hold on our business plans and we need to be reassured that we are not going from the frying pan into the fire'."

Erinaceous took over the lease on the airport in 2006, with the guarantee the airport would remain an airport for at least 35 years.

There were also restrictions on building on the runway. Plans to build homes at the airport were submitted to Adur District Council but withdrawn after objections from the Environment Agency.

The operators' association asked for assurances from Brighton and Worthing councils that the same guarantees of the airport's future have been agreed by Albermarle Shoreham Airport Ltd.

Garry Peltzer Dunn, head of Brighton and Hove City Council's major projects committee and a former vice-chairman of the airport authority committee, said the 2006 lease, with its 35-year guarantee, will not be affected by the change of ownership.

He told The Argus Albemarle had cooperated with the councils by providing information for officers to check before the sale was finalised.

He said: "I am very optimistic about it.

"Within a week I would expect meetings to take place as a matter of urgency."