Large steel frames will be installed on the west wall, the transepts, the back of the cathedral and the southern side of the building near where the tower once stood.

"These frames are designed to stop the building from moving in an earthquake," said Project director Keith Paterson

"But they also provide an opportunity for access and then also encapsulate the building to weatherproof it in the future.

We are using them for multiple purposes."

Workers would then enter beneath portable steel frames to protect them from earthquakes or falling debris.

"It is a bit like Pike River, but the danger isn't omnipresent, it is a discreet danger."

Once workers can access the building they will be able to assess the level of damage to the stone walls from a crane, Paterson said.

At the end of the year, demolition will begin on the visitors centre on the northern side of the cathedral to allow more access to the heritage building.

The two-year stabilisation project also includes removing the cathedral's historic pipe organ so it can be restored and improved.

By the end of the stabilisation stage, Paterson said the building would be about 34 per cent of the current seismic building code.

Three historic trees and the Citizens' War Memorial should only be removed from the Christ Church Cathedral grounds if absolutely necessary, city leaders say.

Proposed planning laws being drawn up by the Government to fast-track the cathedral's restoration allow for three, more than 100-year-old, London plane trees and the war memorial to be removed from the site.

The new planning rules being drawn up by the Government would mean resource consent for restoration would have to be approved within 40 days and would not require public notification

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Entered in the Heritage and Restoration category, the St Mary's project took out both Gold and Category Winner medals.

The awards were announced on Friday, at Sky City, Auckland.

With five category Gold medals, four Silver and one Bronze awarded, construction company LT McGuinness faced down strong competition.

In making the awards, the judges commented "the outcome was a finished church that looked identical to the original."

And, "It will stand the test of time."

Brian McGuinness, Managing Director of LT McGuinness, is thrilled to win the award.

He described the job as a "heart and soul project."

With considerable budgetary constraints and funding provided by personal and community donations, Mr McGuinness said the project was very different.

The priest who oversaw and fund-raised for the seismic strengthening of the Church, Fr Barry Scannell SM, is excited by the award.

"It's a fantastic recognition, particularly for LT McGuinness", says the former Parish Priest, speaking on Sunday after Mass from his new parish of Napier.

Fr Scannell on Wednesday received the MNZM at Government House, Wellington, from Governor General Her Excellency The Rt Hon. Dame Patsy Reddy, for services to the community and heritage preservation.

Eight other church-based projects featured prominently throughout the various award categories.

The New Zealand Commercial Project Awards are New Zealand's prestigious awards programme which set the benchmark for commercial construction in New Zealand.

The awards are about celebrating the completed construction projects and the team relationships that achieve them.

In 2017, Kerrin Manuel of LT McGuinness won the James Hardie Innovation and Excellence award for finding an innovative solution which materially benefited the St Mary of the Angels project, but which also provides longer term benefits for the construction industry.

Sources

• Society of Mary NZ
• New Zealand Master Builders Commercial Projects Awards
• LT McGuinness