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Recent engineering and geotechnical reports are showing “positive” signs for the future of Christchurch’s quake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, officials claim.
Preliminary reports on the land and foundations on which Christchurch’s Catholic Cathedral sits are positive.
The detailed content of the reports has not been made public yet.
Property and Development Manager Keith Beal says the church’s attempts to ‘save the nave’ are making progress with their proposed repair techniques being ratified.
The late Bishop Barry Jones, when making his initial decision last year to attempt to ‘save the nave,’ decreed that this would have to be done within a budget cap of $45 million.
Beal said that they are not going to come back with a perfect replica. What they will do is incorporate the most significant elements of the cathedral into a future design.
The cap was set in place to ensure that there would be sufficient funding, including the insurance proceeds, to meet the needs of the cathedral and all parishes in the Diocese.
“Fundraising is the challenge we now face and our attention is fully focused on ensuring that we are able to achieve the first steps in rebuilding the cathedral by ‘saving the nave’ inside this budget,” Beal says.
“Once the investigations into the costs of are complete, only then will we be making a statement on the future of the cathedral. As indicated earlier, that is still expected to be in September.”
Interview with Keith Beal
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