Minister wants cathedral cleaned up
Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods would be happy if the front of the Christ Church Cathedral could be cleaned up next week.
Overgrown weeds and tall grass in front of the earthquakedamaged Anglican cathedral have been criticised as a ‘‘bloody disgrace’’ and a ‘‘civic embarrassment’’ by leading Christchurch figures. The cathedral has been sitting empty since the 2011 earthquakes.
Woods plans to meet Anglican church leaders tomorrow to discuss cleaning up the cathedral ‘‘as soon as possible’’.
‘‘If [next week] is possible, I
‘‘Everyone in Christchurch would like to see that site tidied up.’’ Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods
would be very happy,’’ she said.
‘‘Everyone in Christchurch would like to see that site tidied up. It will be the first stage of things happening with the cathedral.
‘‘Everyone has a will for the same thing.’’
Woods said health and safety risks, which have been raised by Anglican leaders as a concern for maintenance workers, will also be discussed at the meeting.
She said negotiations for a joint venture between the Government and Anglican leaders to restore the cathedral were progressing well, with a deal possible within weeks.
‘‘We are making really good progress and it should be complete in the very near future. I am hopeful that we are talking weeks.’’
Christchurch city councillor Deon Swiggs and RSA president Pete Dawson have both called for the cathedral to be tidied up immediately. The fenced off area around the cathedral has been poorly maintained since the 2011 earthquakes, with gorse, pampas grass and other plants growing wild through the paving stones.
The chair of the trust formed to oversee the restoration, Peter Guthrey, said in November that he wanted the site cleaned up before the end of 2017. Guthrey, a centralcity landowner and property investor, chairs the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Trust, which will oversee fundraising and restoration of the building.
The Anglican’s governing body, known as the Synod, voted in September to restore the building. Bishop Victoria Matthews resigned from her role last month and will leave on May 1.
Matthews criticised the restoration project in her final sermon at the Cardboard Cathedral on Sunday, saying it was being driven by the ‘‘wealthy and powerful’’. ‘‘It’s business as usual folks, with the wealthy and powerful telling you, the people of Canterbury, they know best. Good luck with that.’’