Failure to redevelop the Brighton Centre could cost 2,000 jobs, the city's tourism chief has warned.

Adam Bates, head of tourism at Brighton and Hove City Council, told a House of Commons committee the city was dependent both on leisure tourism and the conference industry.

He said maintaining Brighton and Hove's reputation as an attractive conference destination required substantial investment.

Mr Bates told MPs: "We are at a point where we are having to look at how to refresh that offer.

"We have some very large capital projects which will need to happen if the city is to remain successful."

Mr Bates said Brighton had to "re-provide" the main conference facility and a £100 million centre was what it would cost to remain competitive.

He said the upside of delivering such a project was "probably another 2,000 jobs in tourism".

If it did not go ahead, 2,000 jobs could be lost, he added. The Commons' planning, local government and the regions committee is undertaking an inquiry into the special needs and funding arrangements of coastal towns.

The city council warned that competition for funding from the Thames Gateway and other areas of the South-East presented "further risk to Brighton and Hove's continued prosperity".

Mr Bates said although the city's prime coastal location attracted tourists and persuaded many students to stay after graduation, it also brought many challenges.

It attracted people without jobs or homes and led to "very clear pockets of dependency" and high demands on the council's social services department.

The city had to deal with high numbers of people claiming housing benefit, low pay and older-than-average housing stock.

But he said the council, along with other coastal towns in Sussex, lost out because of the way grants were calculated.