Re: New Zealand - Earthquake-ravaged Christchurch Cathedral to be demolished
Christchurch Cathedral
Despite the loss of the Cathedral building, life continues. News will be posted here as it comes to hand.
New Release
Media release ? 2.00pm Friday 2 March 2012
Decision Reached on the Christchurch Cathedral
The Church Property Trust and Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch has reached a final decision on the works to be undertaken on the Christchurch Cathedral, further to receipt of the Section 38 Notice from CERA and following the exacerbation of existing damage to the building on December 23rd. Bishop Victoria Matthews announced today that the Cathedral will be carefully deconstructed down to a level of approximately 2-3 metres in order to meet safety requirements and allow the safe retrieval of taonga and heritage items which can then be stored and protected until decisions about a new Cathedral are made.
" The Cathedral will be deconstructed with the utmost care and respect while at the same time protecting the treasures within its walls - there will be no bulldozers or wrecking balls, on the job," said Bishop Victoria.
"We acknowledge the high level of community interest and sense of ownership as the Cathedral was both an iconic building and a place of regular worship by many. However, this is now a very dangerous building that needs to be made safe. Our priority is also to ensure people working on-site are safe - in fact if anyone had been in the building on December 23rd they would have been put at a great risk of serious injury or worse."
"We are also mindful that since December 23, the context of our decision making has changed given the further deterioration of the building and the risk of further seismic events, according to the geotechnical experts.
"The Anglican Diocese is facing a hard reality - the Cathedral is the revered "MotherChurch" but is not the only church in the Diocese to have sustained damage, in some cases irreparable or too costly to repair." Cost considerations have been a factor in the collective decision-making by the Church Property Trust and Standing Committee due to the significant shortfall in expected insurance monies. Currently, the Trust has estimated a $20-$30million shortfall over the whole Anglican Diocese, which does not include the potential cost of any future damage. In regard to the Cathedral specifically, the sums are staggering. A replica Cathedral has been ruled out due to an estimated $100 million shortfall, while a new build incorporating some of the old would incur a shortfall of up to $50million. "
We would not be responsible stewards if we ignored the financial realities - in this respect we are facing a similar challenge as the Roman Catholic Diocese," said Bishop Victoria.
"We are now looking to the future and creating a beautiful, inspiring, safe new Cathedral but we understand it will take some time for any of these decisions to be made. Meanwhile, we are committed to establishing a Transitional Cathedral in the central city to bring hope to Christchurch and provide a much-needed venue where the community can pray, reflect and gather for worship."
Read more:
http://www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz/News-Media/Latest-News
