Christ Church Cathedral could do with a miracle
Rocked. As dawn broke across Christchurch on Saturday, you could virtually hear the city collectively groan after unwrapping the newspaper and clicking on The Press website.
That sinking feeling was unmistakeable. Christ Church Cathedral’s dramatic blowout in budget and timeframe presents the very real threat that the dream of reinstatement is fading before our eyes. As is the prospect of Cathedral Square re-establishing its pre-eminent position in the public consciousness, of being the city’s thriving heart, anytime soon.
Trying to bridge the $114 million fiscal hole is not the priority issue. The most pressing challenge is finding an additional $30m by August to secure the completion of the strengthening programme – and to keep the mothballing wolf from the door.
There’s little appetite from the city council to rush to the rescue, nor the Government, given their respective fiscal challenges.
However, among our local MPs, there’s a clear divergence of sentiments on next steps.
Canterbury’s highest-ranked Government MP, Waimakariri’s Matt Doocey, tells me, “if fund-raising efforts are unsuccessful and reinstatement is not an option, the current Cathedral could serve as a living memorial to the earthquakes”.
Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg is already writing “the once-iconic” Cathedral’s obituary. She tells me: “Many in the community would love to see it reinstated but, despite the years of efforts, this hasn’t been able to be realised. Our Government is unable to commit public funding to this project.”
Ilam MP Hamish Campbell takes a distinctly different stance. “The Cathedral remains an integral part of the fabric of our city. I’m optimistic there will be a way forward to reinstate the Cathedral. There is certainly hope that the necessary funds can be raised.”
Meanwhile, from the Labour Party, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb tells me that “ultimately, the Cathedral will be reinstated. Mothballing will only increase costs”.
“It’s always been agreed that the church and philanthropy would be the main source of funding, and this should remain the case. But I’ll be advocating for the Government to reconsider additional funding.”
Christchurch Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd (CCRL) chair Mark Stewart confirms $77m has been spent on the project and there’s just $8m left in the tank.
Stewart intends submitting to the council’s long-term plan and will present a funding request to the Government “in the next two or three months”.
He strongly believes the council should be open to providing further funding, pointing out it coughed up $46m for the Court Theatre project.
But CCRL has given itself an implausibly short runway to somehow secure $30m in external funding by September. I believe the church is going to have to front-foot that immediate cost themselves.
After gaining full entry to the building last March, Stewart claims it wasn’t until November that it became clear the initial cost assumptions “were simply wrong”.
What about those lost six years of dither, delay and decay, prior to the synod approving the reinstatement project? Stewart freely accepts that construction inflation has significantly fuelled cost escalations.
Assuming that the necessary $30m funding is available by September, there’s actually considerable scope to lower the final project cost of $248m.
That figure is not set in stone. Just as CCRL has scaled back some initial features of the project, like the lowered courtyard, further rescoping could be applied. For example, do the ancillary buildings, like the parish centre, warrant fresh appraisal with a view to trimming project costs? What about the Rolls Royce seismic rating? Should the project stick with base-isolating the building and achieving 100% new building standard?
Stewart agrees that the planned level of seismic protection could be over-the-top and “that decision could be revisited”.
Then there’s the tower, which Stewart estimates could cost around $14m. Should that be deferred until funding is available? Should the previous People’s Steeple concept be reconsidered?
You’ll know that I have unswervingly believed in the restoration of Christchurch’s most emblematic and enduring symbol. I’m gutted by the magnitude of the blow-out, which has blindsided many people.
Mark Stewart won’t confirm that he’s donated $10m to the project as widely claimed, but he tells me he’s “the biggest individual donor”. Ten more Mark Stewarts, please step forward. Christ Church Cathedral could do with a miracle.