A company has denied it wants to close a Worthing seafront hotel despite submitting a planning application for 15 flats on the site.

Diane Guest, chairman of Worthing Hospitality Association, said it would be an "awful shame" if the 36-bedroom Kingsway Hotel, at the junction of Marine Parade and Queen's Road, was converted.

She said the town's hotel trade had enjoyed one of its best summers and Worthing could not afford to lose any more beds.

During the August Bank Holiday, there was just one bed left in the resort as people flocked to the coast in the prolonged heatwave.

Ms Guest said: "We really could do with more beds in the town, without a doubt."

Councillor Bob Smytherman, council chairman of economic development, said: "I would certainly oppose the closure of the Kingsway as a hotel.

"I work in the hotel sector and to lose a seafront hotel would be dreadful. We have had a very good year with lots of visitors saying very nice things about Worthing.

"If the owners cannot continue to operate this business I am sure someone could come along and take it over. Once planning consent for a hotel has gone, it's gone for good."

A spokesman for Fine Southern Hotels, which owns the Kingsway, said: "The company has applied for planning permission as part of an on-going review of its assets.

"The company remains committed to the future of the hotel, obtaining business for the coming years, and planning the refurbishment of the lounge bar and the remaining bedrooms that need expenditure continues."

James Appleton, the council's assistant director of planning services, said: "We would resist the loss of hotels in the central accommodation area.

"What the applicants have sought to do is put a fairly comprehensive planning statement forward to argue that a hotel in that location is not going to continue to be viable."

He said the company had provided financial information to support this view but the council would have to consult with the English Tourism Board before coming to a decision.

Many rooms at the Kingsway have sea views and all have en suite bathrooms and satellite TV.

Worthing has lost a number of major hotels in the last 15 years, including the Warnes, the Eardley, the Granville and the Anchorage.

Hotels such as the Chatsworth and the Berkeley have invested heavily in improving facilities.

The Burlington recently underwent a £1 million-plus refurbishment of its 26 rooms, restaurant, bar and nightclub.