Wednesday 22 February marks the first anniversary of the second, and the most devastating Christchurch earthquake in which the Catholic and the Anglican cathedrals were severely damaged.
The future of the Christchurch cathedrals is unclear and those making the decisions are still awaiting further information from the experts assessing the damage and calculating the cost of rebuilding.
It would take 60 stonemasons three years to rebuild the Catholic Cathedral in Christchurch and the wages bill could be up to $40 million.
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament leaders are still considering whether to restore the quake-damaged building for about $100m or build a new cathedral for about $40m. The earthquakes have badly damaged the cathedral and much of the building has been taken down.
Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews says engineering reports on the building would be received by the Anglican diocese early in March and peer-reviewed by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and the Historic Places Trust.
“I don’t know what I will be told when I get all these reports.
“I don’t know if it will be black and white or shades of grey. If there is a difference of opinion, it will take longer,” she said.
“Structurally, it is in bad shape, but I am not a structural engineer. We don’t know what the report is going to say”.
Source
- Stuff.co.nz – Catholic Cathedral
- Stuff.co.nz – Anglican Catherdral
- Image: AnglicanJournal.com
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News category: New Zealand.
