The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Wellington is to receive $8.5 million in Government funding from the “shovel ready” infrastructure fund. The cathedral in Hill St, Thorndon, has been closed since 2018, and the money will go towards restoring and earthquake strengthening the building. The $8.5 funding will create almost 300 construction jobs. The Read more
Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett says St Gerard’s Church itself is not at risk, but some “tough calls” might have to be made about the future of other earthquake-prone buildings that are part of the St Gerard’s Monastery. Pannett holds the Council’s heritage building resilience portfolio. She said a special grant was one option the Read more
The International Catholic Programme of Evangelisation (IPCE) owns Wellington’s St Gerard’s monastery and church buildings. The buildings are rated at 25 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS), anything under 34 per cent is considered earthquake-prone. IPCE have until 2027 to complete the strengthening. They have just $42,000 sitting in a fund to get Read more
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother in Hill Street, Thorndon, Wellington, popularly known as The Basilica has received a grant of $120,000 to assist in its $3.3 million strengthening project. The grant is a “one-off” ‘out of round’ contribution from the Wellington City Council’s Built Heritage Incentive Fund. Read more
Work began last Thursday on the renovation of the Sacred Heart Basilica in Timaru to protect it against future earthquakes. The project involves major improvements, maintenance and repairs. “We have a responsibility to fulfil the requirements to earthquake strengthen this building for public use and maintain the building as an impressive symbol of Christian Faith Read more
In October last year, two Wairarapa Catholic churches were abruptly closed for some time after being deemed earthquake-prone. One of the churches is Martinborough’s St Anthony of Padua. The decision left the local Catholic community to sort out its immediate future including the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass and Carols celebration. The Martinborough Catholic community considered a Read more
More than half of the finalists in an award recognising “commitment, investment or a unique solution to earthquake strengthening which has saved or will now protect a heritage building” in Christchurch, New Zealand, are Anglican churches and a school. Continue reading
Contractors began to demolish a four-storey block at Sacred Heart College in Lower Hutt on Monday. A seismic assessment conducted earlier this year found Mission House would not perform “satisfactorily” in a severe, locally-based earthquake. Before it was used for administration offices and classrooms, the building was the convent for the Sisters of Our Lady Read more
Wellington’s St Mary of the Angels church has got a mention in the Wall St Journal. “Adjacent to the Majestic Centre, St. Mary of the Angels Church has been closed since 2013 because of safety concerns.” “A planned NZ$3 million earthquake strengthening project includes 50 new rock anchors—cables drilled into the ground to anchor the Read more
Chief executive of the Catholic Education Office in New Zealand, Brother Sir Patrick Lynch, said his office has opened discussions with the Government about funding to assess and remediate earthquake prone Catholic schools. The Catholic Education Office is responsible for 340 schools throughout the country. The Minister of Building and Housing Nick Smith has proposed Read more