‘Not one cent of my rates’: Cathedral rebuild in the balance amid cost blowout

Monday, 8 April 2024

Huge uncertainty hangs over the future of the Christ Church Cathedral as it runs out of money for its rebuild.

The embattled Christ Church Cathedral must be completed, says the man who first saved it, but as the cost to do so soars, political and public good will is fading.

Cathedral restoration bosses announced in The Press on Saturday the cost to rebuild the earthquake-stricken church had skyrocketed from $160 million to $248m and unless $30m could be found by August, the building would be mothballed indefinitely. Ratepayers and taxpayers are being asked to meet the $114m funding gap.

But over the weekend, central and local government leaders were either cool on, or outright against, any more financial support.

The restoration, which began in 2020, has already received $25m from central government. A further $10m is coming from the Christchurch City Council via a targeted rate: $6.52 a year per ratepayer until 2028.

On Sunday, Finance Minister Willis said Cabinet would have to assess any funding request against the Government’s priorities, “include investing in schools, hospitals, law and order and transport infrastructure”. Nine city councillors also responded to The Press. Some equivocated, but none called for committing more ratepayer money.

A chorus of readers also wrote to object to any further contribution.

The ChristChurch Cathedral reinstatement project might be mothballed if they can’t get significant additional funding.

“Not one cent of my rates,” one correspondent wrote. Another said the rebuild should never have been started. “It was obvious the damage was great and beyond restoration.”

Philip Burdon, the businessman and former MP who successfully campaigned to save the cathedral from demolition with the late Jim Anderton, acknowledged some people would be “appalled” at the funding shortfall, but said the restoration simply had to be completed.

“I hope that every community at every level can find it within its capability to find this significant figure.

“The reality is that it’s far too developed now not to complete this building.”

Burdon has personally contributed $5m to the project. He would not give any more.

“There is a limit to my resources as well.”

The cathedral was a unique part of Christchurch’s heritage, Burdon said. Current circumstances did not make him regret his effort to save it.

Peter Beck, the cathedral dean when the quake hit, echoed Burdon. The cathedral was nationally significant, he said.

“We have to pull out all stops…Clearly it’s a huge challenge but it has to be done.”

Beck said the city would never be totally recovered from the earthquakes until the cathedral was fully restored.

Jamie Perry works on strengthening the Christ Church Cathedral.

More that 700,000 people used to visit it annually. He was confident it could achieve those numbers again.

Those numbers are supported by a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZEIR) report, commissioned by the charitable company managing the rebuild, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd.

According to the report, there had been $1 billion of private and public sector investment in the streets around Cathedral Square since the 2011 earthquake and another $1b was planned for the next 10 years. It also said a reinstated cathedral would result in an additional $20.8m in tourism spending annually.

“Our analysis shows that the benefits of reinstatement outweigh the costs, indicating that the project should proceed.”

Business Canterbury chief executive Leeann Watson said the cathedral could not be mothballed. Many people saw the building as a measure of the city’s post-earthquake recovery. Photographs of it languishing were not the images the city wanted portrayed, she said.

The city council is consulting on a draft 10-year budget with a cumulative rates increase of 57.8% and a 13.24% in the next financial year. As such, many councillors voiced reluctance to add cathedral rebuild costs to that.

Cr Victoria Henstock, who worked for Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Trust* for three years, opposed council stumping up the $30m urgently needed.

“The response to Saturday’s media announcement indicates the project as it stands has lost public support.”

Mark Stewart, chair of Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited, left, and Bishop Peter Carrell say project might be mothballed if they cannot get additional funding by August.

Focus now needed to be on modifying the project’s scope, she said.

“It’s the heart of our city and it still has a hole in it. We need to work towards creating a valued space for the people of Christchurch.”

Cr James Gough said ratepayers’ resources were already stretched so the council would need a strong community mandate and rigorous economic assessment before committing more money.

Central ward councillor Jake McLellan said no-one wanted to see the project mothballed.

“I know how much confidence completing this project will give to the square and the overall central city.”

Cr Sam MacDonald said the church needed to consider recycling assets across its own portfolio to help bridge the funding gap.

The Anglican Church has committed to providing $33m from insurance proceeds and an additional $16m, which was likely to come from selling assets.

MacDonald believed the church needed to front up with more.

A 2020 report commissioned by the Anglican General Synod estimated the value of the church’s assets in New Zealand at more than $2.87b, recommending the wealth be used for social good.

Bishop Peter Carrell said in an opinion piece in The Press last month, the church’s finances were not centralised and each local parish and diocese retained much control.

* An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Christchurch city councillor Victoria Henstock was executive director of the charitable company set up to manage the rebuild Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd. However, she was executive director for the Christ Church Reinstatement Trust.