$104m cathedral rebuild will take years
Work to reinstate the Christ Church Cathedral is now well under way, but it could be eight years before it reopens.
The cathedral was damaged in the September 2010 earthquake and reopened soon after. However, the February 2011 earthquake devastated the building.
The cathedral lay in ruins for years while a decision was made as to what to do with it. In 2017 the Synod voted — by a narrow majority — to reinstate the building. This came after the then-national government offered a $10 million cash contribution and a $15m loan — a $10m grant was also pledged by the Christchurch City Council.
The building had long stood as a symbol of the lack of progress on the city’s rebuild, but now, more than 10 years after the first earthquake, work is being overseen by the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Trust.
NZME staff were taken on a tour of the cathedral site by project director Keith Paterson to see was being done. Much of that work involved stabilising the structure.
At the front of the building — the west wall — timber bracing had been put up. That wall, including its large rose window, collapsed following the quakes. Facing timber had also been installed in preparation for permanent stabilisation frames.
On the southwest transept, the first part of stabilisation work was under way. That involved creating heavy foundations to support steel frames that would reach to the top of the transept.
Then, long steel bars would be drilled into the wall to connect the frames to the building — core samples had been taken from the wall to check for voids.
Gaps in the building would also be weather-proofed.
On the other side of the building, similar work was being completed, with large foundations put in place to support a structure that would clamp on to the building.
Paterson said the building also needed to be cleared of vermin.
Aside from the stabilisation work, efforts were being made to preserve the heritage of the building — including its contents. There was still a big question mark over how much the project would cost. An estimate in 2017 was around $104m, made up of the church’s insurance money, the Crown and council contributions, grants, and fundraising efforts.
Anglican bishop Victoria
Matthews initially wanted to demolish it and build a replacement, at the time saying there were much greater concerns facing the church, including child poverty and climate change. It was expected the final cost would be more than $104m and while Paterson would not say what the updated cost figures were, he said that information would be released next month.
He said it was also not possible to state a firm timeframe for how long the work would take.
— NZ Herald