Cathedral could get modern spire
The collapsed spire of the Christ Church Cathedral will be replaced with a ‘‘structure that will provide an international standard visitor attraction’’, according to a summary of the restoration deal released on Friday.
The deal outlining how the cathedral will be restored, using about $35 million of public money, will not be made public, but a summary was released on Friday. The original deal runs to about 50 pages and covers ‘‘ownership, management, reporting lines and phasing’’, but the summary was only four pages long.
The summary was not clear if any new tower and spire would replicate the original or be an entirely new design. The summary used the word replace rather than reinstate, suggesting a modern new design for the spire.
Justin Murray, head of the joint venture company overseeing cathedral restoration, said the form of any new spire would be ‘‘subject to a future design process.’’
The spire and tower collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake. The remains of the tower were later demolished.
The summary covers an agreement to ‘‘reinstate the cathedral so that it closely resembles, as far as possible, how it looked before the earthquakes. It will be reinstated to current building code standards’’. The main cathedral building would be upgraded to 100 per cent of the new building code.
Leaders from a new private joint venture company that will run the restoration; Anglican land and cathedral owners the Church Property Trustees; and the trust formed to represent the Government and oversee fundraising signed the deal last month.
The deal summary states the restoration had been ‘‘provisionally costed using commercial rates and provision for contingencies, subject to any necessary revision once stabilisation and initial assessment are complete.’’ The summary does not include any dollar figures. A government working group estimated in 2016 that restoration would cost about $103 million. Murray would not provide an estimate.
The deal also covers a ‘‘fit-for-purpose visitor centre with museum and cafe’’, base isolation for the restored cathedral and upgraded cathedral grounds with landscaping.
The main cathedral will be stabilised and restored first, followed by ancillary buildings and the visitor centre, and then the tower and spire.
The summary also includes some detail about how any disagreement between the parties would be resolved.
‘‘The parties have agreed to work with each other in good faith. Should a dispute arise, the JV agreement describes a resolution process, outside of the court system,’’ the summary states.
Murray could not immediately answer questions on whether this meant parties to the deal had signed away their legal recourse through the courts.
Restoration is being partly funded by a $10 million Christchurch City Council grant, a $10m Crown cash contribution, and a $15m government loan that would not have to be paid back if certain conditions were met.
As part of the project, a fund will also be established to cover maintenance and insurance for the restored cathedral, the summary states.
‘‘A fund is to be established to permanently fund the future costs of maintaining and insuring the cathedral. The exact sum is to be determined by an expert.’’
Like all encounters with wildlife, it was exciting and brief. One moment I was talking to my boss in the newsroom, the next I was watching a black cat casually explore the rooftops of Christ Church Cathedral.
The small feline seemed to know its way around the ruins the central Christchurch building. Does it live there? Is it putting the ‘‘cat’’ in ‘‘cathedral’’?
Here is what happened: First, the cat climbed up the roof and disappeared behind the roof line. Then it returned and walked back down to the eaves. It was a cat on a slate grey roof. It then leapt dramatically from the sloping roof and through one of the narrow neo-Gothic windows in a cathedral turret.
The cat’s black tail could be seen briefly dangling out of the window before it disappeared into the gloom of the cathedral for good. It has not been seen since.
So is a cat living in the ruins of the cathedral? Perhaps feasting on the odd pigeon or maybe even a rat on special occasions?
A spokeswoman for the Anglican diocese said no-one was available to talk to me about cats.
A written statement from Church Property Trustees (CPT) general manager Gavin Holley said cats had been spotted in the cathedral.
‘‘There is no doubt feral cats roam the city and we have seen some on site at the Cathedral,’’ Holley wrote.
Cats had been captured on motionactivated security cameras installed in the derelict cathedral in 2015, he said. ‘‘Yes, there have been cats recorded on the security cameras.’’
But they are not the first wild animals to take advantage of post-quake Christchurch. Rabbits have also made their home in the city centre.
Rabbits can be seen on empty sites near the corner of Tuam and High streets and have even been spotted in Cathedral Square.
The derelict cathedral, which has been open to the elements for several years, also provides a home for dozens of pigeons.
Roof beams made from to¯ tara and ma¯ tai trees felled on Banks Peninsula about 140 years ago are roosting spots for the birds. The sandstone floor quarried from Mt Somers in the 1870s could be suffering damage from acidic pigeon droppings.