The Christchurch High Court has ruled the church can ask the Crown to compensate it for the loss of a 999-year lease on the old Holy Cross Chapel in Chancery Lane. The church had been paying a nominal rent of $1 a year to the owner of the Chancery Lane block, RFD Investments. The sole Read more
An independent Government-appointed consultant will be brought in to negotiate plans for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral after four years of deadlock. Plans for the future of Christchurch’s iconic cathedral stalled in 2011 after Anglican leaders came out in support of plans to partially demolish the building. They had faced ongoing opposition from heritage campaigners, particularly Read more
The Christchurch School of Music (CSM) is returning to its former home on the Catholic cathedral site in Christchurch’s city centre. A complex of four portable buildings will be built by the Catholic diocese on land it recently purchased on the corner of Barbadoes St and Ferry Rd. The buildings will then be leased to Read more
The Anglican Diocese of Christchurch has avoided censure for incorrectly using funds from an insurance payout to help pay for the Transitional Cathedral. A High Court judgment released on Wednesday said it was sufficient for the Church Property Trustees (CPT) to repay the $4 million it used from the quake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral insurance payout Read more
Plans to retain and restore parts of the Catholic cathedral could be jeopardised by approval delays, Christchurch diocese leaders claim. In June, the diocese applied to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) for a section 38 notice. They had expected a decision in weeks but are still waiting approval. A section 38 notice would give Read more
Comparisons between the progress made at Barbadoes St and in Cathedral Square are unhelpful, but perhaps inevitable, says an editorial in the Christchurch newspaper, The Press. The editorial explains how public reaction to the two Churches has differed and suggest the reason can be found in their history and current use. Since the earthquakes, debate Read more
The Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Barry Jones, has announced a $45 million plan to partially restore the Christchurch Catholic cathedral. The rebuilt Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament would include a part of the original building, but would not entirely replicate it. Some areas, including the sanctuary, cannot be saved. And because of budget constraints and Read more
Philip Burdon says he was grateful to see Anglican Church officials show their apparent willingness to consider a more reflective and inclusive approach to the Christ Church Cathedral debate. Until now the church officials have single-mindedly advocated for the demolition of the cathedral and its replacement with a contemporary design on the basis of the Read more
New aerial footage has revealed just how much damage was sustained by Christchurch’s Catholic cathedral in the February 2011 earthquake. Christchurch man Pete Perrim used a drone to film the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch’s Blessed Sacrament Cathedral from the air. The footage, taken using a DJI Phantom 2 drone, documented the extent of the damage Read more
On the 27th November the New Zealand Government, through the Governor-General, claimed the land that the Holy Cross Chapel in Chancery Lane, Christchurch, stood on. This land taken by proclamation is to be used for the Convention Centre Precinct. The Christchurch diocese says this move is not an unexpected development. It is part of the Read more