Future of Cathedral Square thrown up in the air

Saturday, 10 August 2024

The Government will not bail out Christ Church Cathedral.

News of Christ Church Cathedral’s probable mothballing has thrown the future of Cathedral Square, and the identity of the city, up in the air.

On Friday the Government refused a request for $60 million or more from Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited (CCRL), which has a $75m to $85m shortfall in its $209m to $219m budget.

CCRL chair Mark Stewart said the news was “incredibly sad and disappointing”, and the board would meet on August 19 to discuss its implications.

Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd chairperson Mark Stewart.

“With the Government’s decision, the pathway to completion is much longer and mothballing is now likely,” he said.

Others suggest it could be a chance for a fresh start for Cathedral Square.

Almost $30m of public money has already gone into the cathedral’s restoration, $25m from taxpayers and $3m from city ratepayers, as well as other forms of central and local government assistance.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the Government would not put more cash into what is a private and religious space.

Just this week the city council agreed to hand over $7m to CCRL, the second tranche of a $10m ratepayer grant.

Stewart said they would ask the city council to pause the payment.

Acting mayor Pauline Cotter said council's interim chief executive Mary Richardson would talk to CCRL next week about the grant.

The Grand nearing completion in Christchurch's old central post office building in Cathedral Square.

Cotter did not know what would be done with the money.

Hopes were also dashed on Friday about completion of another Cathedral Square project, The Grand hospitality and visitor complex in the old central post office. It has been canned due to lack of cash after years of planning.

Landlord Gordon Chamberlain said he had retrieved the keys from The Grand director Darin Rainbird on Thursday after he failed to find another investor.

Michael Grimshaw says Christchurch should consider the point of Cathedral Square. (File photo)

While arguably the heart of the city has moved towards Cashel St and the Avon River, the cathedral image remains prominent in places like the city council logo.

Michael Grimshaw, associate sociology professor at Canterbury University, asked what stopping the cathedral project meant for the Square.

“What is the point of Cathedral Square if there is no cathedral? It's basically a giant big traffic island,” he said.

He said the Square was “already dead”. “What is going to be the use of that space? Do you put a road back through it?”

The Anglican cathedral features on the city council logo.

Colombo St ran in front of the cathedral until the 1960s.

Grimshaw asked what would replace the cathedral as “the symbol of a new Christchurch”, and said the city’s narrative should be remade.

He said it could provide an opportunity to put the city's Anglican past behind it and “create a 21st century, modern city”.

Wigram MP Megan Woods urged consensus on the fate of the building, and said the issue had become divisive since the earthquakes.

“I encourage the current Government to work very closely with both the city council and with the cathedral community,” she said.

“Christchurch people have made it clear that they do want to see everything post-earthquake fixed.

“We're over a decade on now that we don't want to see piles of rubble in our city.”

Cotter said CCRL is “just going to have to find a plan B”.

Hata Hiromi in her Cathedral Square food truck, Lucky Ninja.

“It’s not all over … It can’t be over. I mean, what’s the alternative? Get the bulldozers in? … so let’s stay positive about it,” she said. “We just have to be patient.”

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said he hopes the cathedral will be finished, and his Government had changed the law to ensure it could be rebuilt.

Open Christchurch is offering tours of Christ Church Cathedral - closed to the public since the 2011 earthquakes - this year and tickets have already sold out.

Philip Burdon, a former Cabinet minister who co-led the campaign to save the cathedral, said mothballing was the best option in the circumstances.

“The reality is, it is going to be an unhappy economy for a couple of years. After mothballing for a couple of years, we should be in a more positive environment for both public and private funding.

“I certainly do not regard demolition as a good option.”

People in Cathedral Square on Friday were divided on what should happen next.

The fate of Christ Church Cathedral remains uncertain.

Cathedral Square food truck owner Hata Hiromi said while the Square was beautiful and full of people 15 years ago, it now does not feel safe. She wants to see the building restored.

“It’s not very good in this area, especially at night. Even the tourists come and they can’t see anything here - so they go to another place.”

Fellow food caravan owner Sabry Abdelatif said Cathedral Square was dying, and wants the cathedral demolished.

“I think we should take it down and just start new again. It would be safer, and more beautiful, and stronger,” he said.

Lorraine Flight from Rotorua hasn’t been in Christchurch for two years and was shocked to see the lack of progress.

“I think it is a lost case, quite honestly. Give up and build something else that represents that cathedral. Start afresh. I am totally disappointed and quite upset by how it looks now.”

Additional reporting by Sophie Lapsley.