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As part of Policy and Resources's planned expenditure for next year, they’ve agreed to support the development a Victor Hugo centre in St Peter Port.
If approved by the States, the agreement will see tax payers fund £1 for every £2 raised through private donations, up to a total of two and a half million pounds, as long as the money raised comes from ‘external sources’.
The proposal is part of the 2025 Budget, which P&R published this week. The committee is seeking approval to increase income tax by 2%, as part of next year's budget along with other revenue raising proposals.
Pictured: Deputy Heidi Soulsby, the Vice President of P&R, talking through the budget announcement earlier this week.
The plans for the Victor Hugo centre were unveiled to the public last June, and just over a year ago, an Art Historian who led the £10million refurbishment of Gainsborough House gave the development his blessing.
The project is being driven forward by a charitable company which is designing the centre and raising the funds necessary.
The planned building works and installation of exhibitions is due to start in 2026, lasting for a couple of years, with a view to the centre becoming operationally active in July 2028.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby is the Vice President of P&R.
She said: “We want to support the Victor Hugo centre. We see that it’s good for the economy. It's been a really good thing for the islands. What Victor Hugo stood for, and what the influence of Guernsey was on his writing.
“Hopefully that'll be be able to see that come to fruition, and they're not too distant in the future.”
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