Brighton's sleeping giant, Stanmer House, is about to wake up after a 21-year slumber.

New plans to renovate the mansion have been prepared by property magnate Mike Holland. Adam Trimingham looks at the prospects.

Mike Holland has two sad and personal reasons for wanting to make a success of his latest prestige restoration project.

His 13-year-old son, Brian, died in 1979 from cancer and his nine-year-old son Chris has cerebral palsy.

The old stables at Stanmer House will be restored by a charitable company named after Brian.

They will be converted into a centre for disabled children, many of them much like Chris.

Mr Holland, of Withdean Road, Brighton, and his wife, Nina, are determined to give these children the best treatment that can be offered.

It will be partly modelled on the Peto Institute in Hungary which tries to ensure disabled children achieve their full potential.

"At one time we did not think that Chris would talk," said Mr Holland. "Now it's sometimes hard to stop him."

Although Chris still uses a wheelchair, he is also able to walk with the aid of sticks and is lively.

Appropriately, a section of the old stables is likely to house horses once again so children can go riding around the safe tracks of the historic park.

Mr Holland also intends to revive the rural museum at Stanmer, ensuring some of the exhibits are inside. They will all be made secure.

He has a long track record in restoring historic buildings. Occupying pride of place in his office at Church Road in Hove is a letter from former mayor David Barling.

It informs him he had won a design award for his sympathetic restoration of homes in the Grade I listed Brunswick Terrace West which had faced demolition because of previous neglect.

Mr Holland also has a keen sense of history and has an extensive library of books about Brighton and Hove. That was why he became interested when Brighton and Hove City Council invited tenders for renovating Stanmer House.

He knew that the mansion, another Grade I listed building, had been empty since Sussex University moved out in 1980.

The 18th Century, Palladian-style building was occupied by successive Earls of Chichester until it was sold at a knock-down price, together with more than 4,000 acres of parkland, to Brighton Borough Council in 1947.

In the last 20 years, successive schemes have been produced for Stanmer but all collapsed.

Mr Holland was determined his idea would not go the same way. He teamed up with partner Gary Hamblyn and formed a special company called Cherrywood to undertake the £6 million project.

They fought off stiff competition to become the council's chosen partners and will take over the house on a 125-year lease.

Planning permission is now being sought for the renovation of the building. It has taken so long because approval has been needed from English Heritage.

Already the council and English Heritage have spent £500,000 on reroofing the house, making it windproof and weathertight. Both want to ensure the restoration is first class.

Mr Holland is keen too. He said: "I want to make sure the house is returned to its former glory."

The finest parts are the main state rooms on the ground floor. They will be converted into an imposing art gallery.

Upstairs, in what was the family's living area and servants' quarters, two of the most desirable homes in Brighton will be created.

One will have three reception rooms and four bedrooms. The other will have four reception rooms and five bedrooms.

Cherrywood will also rebuild the former north wing of the house, demolished by the council in the Fifties because of its poor condition.

The exact footprint of the old building will be used to create another eight luxury family homes.

If all goes well, planning permission will be granted towards the autumn and work can begin before the end of the year. The complex task of restoration and building will take about 18 months.

Mr Holland hopes to hold at least one open day as the work progresses so people can see what is going on.

His scheme will add ten more families to the small community and also bring more trade to local stores.

Mr Holland also intends to restore the gardens of the historic house and would like to see more improvements to the park.

He is also liaising with council officials to ensure the park is kept free of unofficial camps by travellers. He said: "I hope everyone will take pride in the park. We also hope to get some back-to-nature pastimes there."

Pictures of his sons are prominent on his office walls. Most of all, he wants the ambitious project to be a tribute to one and a place of pleasure for the other.