A historic house is to be restored to its former glory in a multi-million pound scheme.

Plans to convert the ground floor of Stanmer House into an art gallery are being put before Brighton and Hove city councillors this week for consideration.

Local company Cherrywood Investments would like to see the main, ornately decorated rooms in the Palladian mansion turned into the centrepiece of Stanmer Park.

The upper floors of the mansion will be converted to form spacious apartments with sweeping, rural views.

Cherrywood also plans to rebuild the demolished northern wing of the house in order to build more housing.

There are proposals to improve and relocate the rural museum and a centre for disabled children will be formed in the stables.

Cherrywood spokes-man Mike Holland said the centre would be particularly aimed at youngsters who have cerebral palsy, which one of his own children suffers from.

It has taken more than two years to prepare the plans.

He said: "We had to get them right."

Mr Holland believes the £6 million scheme will meet with approval from Brighton and Hove city councillors and the local villagers.

He is offering his own help towards revitalising the museum and he said the children's countryside centre would be the only one of its type in the area.

Stanmer House was built for the Earl of Chichester.

It was bought, along with neighbouring parkland, by the then Brighton Council after the Second World War at a knockdown price.

The house was used by the University of Sussex from its early days in 1960 for 20 years.

Since then it has stood empty while successive schemes have been proposed for it but none has come to anything.

Three years ago English Heritage and the council spent £500,000 on the house, repairing the roof and making the building wind and weatherproof.