A cluster of Victorian buildings may be demolished to make way for a four-storey shops and flats complex.

Developers want to knock down three shops at 38-42 Portland Road and 9 Field Row, Worthing, but may face opposition from conservationists.

The unit in Field Row was formerly an arts studio while only one of the three shops fronting Portland Road is occupied, by The Purple Zone.

If Worthing planners grant consent, the shops, next to the old Rhapsody wine bar, will be replaced by a ground-floor shop with basement storage and nine flats on the first, second and third floors.