Cathedral non-event delays progress

Six years after the earthquakes, there is finally a sense of genuine progress in the reconstruction of central Christchurch.

This summer will build on the last, which featured the reopening of the Christchurch Art Gallery and the enormous success of the Margaret Mahy Playground. Expectations were high that a definite announcement about the future of the Christ Church Cathedral would finally come in the days before Christmas. But expectations were dashed and not for the first time.

When a press conference was held just before Christmas in 2015, Bishop Victoria Matthews and then Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee told assembled media that the Anglican Diocese Church Property Trust ˘had agreed to consider reinstating the partly-ruined cathedral. It was a cautious reversal of the church’s earlier intention to demolish and rebuild and it came with some conditions. The reinstatement would cost $105 million, which is money the church does not have, Matthews said.

That the church was now officially open-minded about repairing the cathedral was symbolically important, even if the 2015 Christmas announcement did not alter the physical state of the building one bit. Twelve months on, it is in exactly the same state – in fact, it is likely to be in worse condition after another year of damage from weather and pests.

To learn that there is no concrete change a year later is disappointing indeed.

The Government created the Christ Church Cathedral Working Group to hammer out a deal with the Church Property Trust. The working group was considering in September how to restore the iconic building rather than contemplating demolition. It was the first overt sign that a rebuild was on the cards.

The group said they would be ‘‘careful to ensure the building retains its external appearance as much as possible’’.

This was music to the ears of Christchurch heritage advocates as well as property owners who had been waiting for an announcement before they committed to developing sites around Cathedral Square. The logic is that they need to know what will be at the centre of the Square and when, before they can commit to building on the edges.

A deal between the church and the Government was said to be close. But as Christmas approached, there was another embarrassing backdown by both parties.

The church and the Government are to continue negotiating in the new year and Matthews said that the Church Property Trust is confident of a positive outcome.

Anything else would be unthinkable after this much time.