Guernsey Victor Hugo Centre needs £7m of funding

The plans include a series of six multimedia interactive galleries

Plans to create a "gateway attraction" celebrating writer Victor Hugo are set to cost about £7m.

The French writer spent 14 years in the island, and is well known for works such as Les Misérables and Toilers of the Sea.

The group behind the privately-funded project hoped to complete it within four years.

Negotiations are continuing for the centre to be built within the Guernsey Information Centre.

Larry Malcic, chair of the Victor Hugo Centre Group, said the link with the author was a local connection that should be celebrated, and it would attract an international audience.

Larry Malcic said the centre would attract international visitors

The plans include a series of six multimedia interactive galleries focusing on Victor Hugo's life and works.

Mr Malcic said: "Wherever you go in the world you find Hugo.

"We can do so much more to celebrate the island's most famous resident with this gateway attraction for Guernsey."

The celebrated writer lived at Hauteville House, St Peter Port, Guernsey from 1856 to 1870 while he was exiled from France for opposing Napoleon III.

The property was donated to the city of Paris in 1927 and now houses a museum dedicated to the author, attracting 20,000 visitors a year.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].