Your cathedral questions answered

Lost track of what’s going on in the Christ Church Cathedral saga? Charlie Gates’ 19 questions will get you up-to-date.

Why should I care?

The derelict cathedral is holding up the regeneration of central Christchurch. Cathedral Square landowners are reluctant to spend money on development next to a decaying site with an uncertain future.

How did we get here?

It all started with the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.

What happened to the cathedral in the quakes?

The spire partially collapsed, damaging part of the roof. Pillars were severely damaged and walls sustained major cracks.

The Rose Window in the west wall of the cathedral was shattered in the June 2011 earthquake. The west wall collapsed further in the December 2011 earthquakes.

What did the Anglicans do then?

In July 2011, it was revealed that the cathedral was only insured for 70 per cent of the rebuild cost.

When the cathedral was deconsecrated in November 2011, Bishop Victoria Matthews said a new cathedral would be a mixture of ‘‘old and new’’."The least desirable option is to bring the whole thing down and put the whole thing up again. No-one wants that. It is not a replica and it doesn’t serve heritage.’’

In October 2011, Matthews announced the cathedral would be largely demolished down to about three metres.

Demolition work was allowed without consent as the Government had ordered it be made safe under special earthquake powers. Work began in March 2012, with some stained glass windows removed. The remains of the spire were demolished in April.

So, why didn’t they demolish the whole thing?

In August 2012, the Great Christchurch Building Trust (GCBT) announced a High Court challenge of the demolition plans. The court put the demolition on hold in November.

That order was in place until July 2013 when a High Court ruling to lift it was upheld by the Appeal Court.

In December 2013, the Supreme Court declined a GCBT appeal against that decision.

Demolition was never resumed because the emergency quake powers had expired and it would require consent, which would be challenged in court by GCBT.

The future of the cathedral was in deadlock.

What did the Anglicans want to build on the cathedral site?

In September 2013, Matthews announced plans to build a new contemporary cathedral.

A modern cathedral drawn up by Warren and Mahoney was used as a placeholder for the design, but Matthews said it could change.

‘‘But it’s a contemporary cathedral – that we can say without question,’’ she said. Later, in March 2015, architect Sir Miles Warren unveiled designs for a $35 million timber cathedral that could act as a compromise.

When did the Government get involved?

In July 2015, earthquake recovery minister Gerry Brownlee wrote a letter to Matthews.

‘‘We are concerned that the regeneration of Christchurch is being unduly delayed by indecision over the future of the cathedral,’’ the letter said.

The letter asked for an ‘‘off the record and without prejudice meeting’’ about a compromise between the parties for the ‘‘benefit of Christchurch, before any precipitous action becomes necessary’’.

Why did the Government get involved?

The stakes were high. The site was still holding up development in the city centre. There was little decisive action on the cathedral from July 2013 until Brownlee’s letter.

So what did Brownlee do?

In July 2015, he appointed Auckland lawyer Miriam Dean, QC, to broker a solution between church leaders and GCBT.

Dean got both sides, and their engineers, to agree on the feasibility and cost of restoring the building or replacing it with a new cathedral.

Restoration would take until 2022 and cost $105m, while a new cathedral would cost about $66m and could be complete by 2019, Deans reported.

Anglicans agreed to reconsider restoration of the cathedral in December 2015.

Then what did Brownlee do?

He appointed a working group in June 2016 to come up with a fully costed and feasible plan for restoring the cathedral.

The group delivered its nonbinding recommendations to government in December 2016.

These recommendations formed the basis of a restoration deal between government and Anglican leaders.

We know the deal went to cabinet in December, but then it gets a bit murky.

What happened?

Matthews said they were close to agreeing on a deal in December but then it was taken off the table and replaced with a different deal in February. Brownlee said the Crown contribution to the deal never changed.

What was in the second deal?

The deal involves the majority of the $104m construction cost of restoration being funded by the Anglican’s $42m insurance payout, a $10m Government grant, a $15m Government loan and a $15m funding pledge from the GCBT.

Have Anglicans accepted the deal?

On May 21, Matthews announced that Canterbury’s Anglican synod would vote on the deal in September.

What is a synod?

The 225-member governing body for Canterbury Anglicans includes elected lay members and priests. It meets once a year to vote on matters related to the church. It is chaired by the bishop and the members vote in three houses.

The bishop has one vote, the clergy have one vote and lay members have one vote. The initial vote will be a yea or nay verbal vote, but any member can call for a division, which leads to a secret ballot.

A decision is passed if it has the support of all three votes. In 2013, the synod voted in favour of a modern replacement cathedral in an informal show of hands.

Is the end in sight?

The Government seems determined to resolve the deadlock and kickstart regeneration of Cathedral Square.

It is not clear how much they are prepared to spend in order to break the deadlock, but a deal before the election would be politically advantageous.

What happens if the Anglicans decide to demolish and build a modern replacement?

Anglicans have said any modern replacement cathedral would be funded with just the $43m insurance payout.

The two main hurdles for a new cathedral would be securing demolition consent from council and getting permission from Heritage New Zealand to demolish a building with archaeological significance on a site dating from before 1900. If demolition consent was granted, heritage campaigners would likely challenge it in court.

City plan rules mean council can refuse an application to demolish the cathedral to make way for a new modern building on specific grounds. Council could choose to make it a notified consent, giving the public a say in the decision. Any decision could also be challenged in the Environment Court.

If demolition consent was granted it would then likely lead to a court battle over planning consent for a modern replacement.

The Government could intervene to restore the building. Christchurch regeneration minister Nicky Wagner has special powers under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act. She can compulsorily acquire land, commission certain building works, approve regeneration plans and override planning rules. The powers in the act are effective until June 2021.

What does Nicky Wagner want?

She wants to reach a deal with Anglican leaders to restore the cathedral before the Synod vote in September.

She is reluctant to use her special earthquake powers at this point.

What does the mayor want?

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel wants Anglicans to take the restoration deal and thinks the Government should buy and repair the cathedral if they don’t.

Dalziel has few powers to make that happen, but believes she has a say due to the $3.8m council contributed to the cathedral from 1999 to 2011.

What does the bishop want?

Past statements and decisions indicate she wants a modern replacement.

The question is, how far is she prepared to go to demolish the cathedral and build a new one?

The fate of regeneration in Christchurch city centre depends on that question, which is not easily answered.