Christ Church Cathedral restoration pins hopes solely on ratepayer cash

Friday, 27 February 2026

The mothballed Christ Church Cathedral sits behind high hoardings.

The campaign to restore Christchurch’s Anglican cathedral is exclusively targetting ratepayers for the money to restart work on the mothballed project.

Eighteen months since halting the restoration project, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd (CCTL) says it is not doing any “meaningful fundraising” and is focused only on the city council plugging the $40m to $45m funding gap to complete the first stage of work.

The council has already committed $10m to the building’s restoration, paid for with a direct levy on people’s rates bills which it paused last year.

On Friday it is launching a round of public consultation to seek residents’ views on the request for more cathedral cash, saying such a move would boost rates.

CCRL needs $90m to $95m to finish stage one of the project, after scaling back its plans last year to reduce the cost to reopen.

This would see only the western part of the building containing the 700-seat nave fixed, and and the entranceway and bell tower rebuilt. The rest will be walled off and restored as later stages.

The repair bill for that stage to get the building reopened is $180m to $185m. The full restoration cost, previously budgeted at $209m to $219m, has not been revisted since the work halted, Grant said.

Project director Carolyne Grant with cathedral items stored in a warehouse in Hornby.

In September, after announcing the new plan, CCRL director Mark Stewart said they would be going cap in hand to taxpayers, ratepayers, and private interests, especially nearby landlords.

Project director Carolyne Grant said this week that with $7m of the initial council contribution still to come and $20m promised by the Anglican diocese from selling the transitional cathedral, they are confident of securing another $20m from philanthropists and other donors. They are seeking the $40m to $45m shortfall from ratepayers.

“We do continue to receive some donations, but we won’t be doing any meaningful fundraising until we can find a funding pathway,” she said.

The latest plan to reopen the cathedral would see the western end repaired and the eastern end walled off.

“Before formally relaunching a public campaign, we want to confirm that this broader funding structure is in place ... Once that structure is confirmed, we will actively relaunch fundraising with a target of $20n in donations.”

“We’ve been doing all the work we can to be ready to restart, but that doesn’t solve the funding gap. We hope we will find support for that. It’s up to the community.”

As part of its budget preparations, the council is seeking public feedback through its website on financial support to restore four buildings - the cathedral, plus three publicly owned heritage properties - the Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum, and the Provincial Chambers.

The public will also have a say on further public funding to complete the Arts Centre restoration.

The consultation will ask people to rate completion of each restoration as either critical, important, somewhat important, not very important, not important, or don’t know.

The council estimates it would cost about $290m in funds “from all sources” to complete the restoration of the four sites.

“Any contribution the council makes would also have an impact on rates increases,” the consultation information says.

City ratepayers face a proposed rates rise of 7.96% this year. Extra spending on the cathedral would be part of the council’s long-term plan (its 10-year budget), which takes effect from mid-2027.

About $88m has already been spent on the strengthening and repairs to date, including $25m from taxpayers and $33m from insurance, as well as the first tranche of council cash.

There are also ongoing costs of about $1m a year to maintain the building in its current stage and keep the property tidy.

The interior of the partly restored cathedral.

Mayor Phil Mauger said if those giving feedback put a high priority on spending on all four heritage sites, “then we'll just have to see how we can make it work.”

“I encourage people to have their say, I really do. It'll cost a few bob.”

Mauger said the council is keen to talk to the Government about heritage funding, but that “we've done quite nicely” since the earthquakes.

“The Government do not walk up with a wheelbarrow full of money and tip it into the city”.

CCRL is also leasing about 1500m² of public land from the council, for $1 a year. The land is fenced off and used for the company’s offices, while heritage and architectural items are stored offsite in a Hornby warehouse.

The Government in 2024 turned down a request from CCRL for more money on the grounds that the cathedral is a privately owned building.

Grant would not comment on whether further approaches would be made to the Government.

“At the moment our focus is funding from the local council. But we are exploring any option for funding,” she said.

In August last year CCRL decided it would proceed with a partial restoration only if it could raise the money.

Grant said members of the public visiting the cathedral during recent organised visits have been enthusiastic about its restoration.

“This is an issue that isn’t going away. We need to find a resolution.”