He's ‘delighted' that it will return to being Christchurch's icon.

His wife, Carole Anderton, says her husband had been very pleased that the Anglican Synod decided to reinstate the cathedral, when it voted last week.

Groups in Christchurch have fought for some years over the earthquake-damaged cathedral's future.

Mr Anderton was a deputy prime minister in the Helen Clark government and held the Christchurch seat of Sydenham for 27 years. He has been ill for some months.

Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy awarded Mr Anderton insignia for services to Parliament earlier this month. He became a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit on the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June.

Helen Clark attended the ceremony.

Mr Anderton's wife says, "A lot of people think of Jim and Philip [Burdon] when they think of the fight to restore the cathedral, but really there was a whole team behind them that deserve the credit."

Following the synod vote, Philip Burdon, himself a former MP and cabinet minister, said he was "delighted, relieved and surprised".

He welcomed the end of uncertainty over the cathedral's future.

During the fight to save the cathedral and restore it, Mt Anderton campaigned at public and official levels.

In 2014 he wrote in the New Zealand Herald that what he called some of the most experienced and knowledgeable New Zealand and international seismic and structural engineers agreed that they could save the cathedral.

During the fight to save the cathedral and restore it, Mr Anderton campaigned at public and official levels.

In 2014 he wrote in the New Zealand Herald that what he called some of the most experienced and knowledgeable New Zealand and international seismic and structural engineers agreed that they could save the cathedral.

In 2014 he wrote in the New Zealand Herald that what he called some of the most experienced and knowledgeable New Zealand and international seismic and structural engineers agreed that they could save the cathedral.

He was adamant that no similar building in any other part of the world would remotely be a candidate for demolition.

He did not give up on his campaign when the cathedral's trustees had Supreme Court backing in 2013 to deconstruct the 132-year-old cathedral and build a new one on the same central city site.

He did not give up on his campaign when the cathedral's trustees had Supreme Court backing in 2013 to deconstruct the 132-year-old cathedral and build a new one on the same central city site.

Part of the reason for the cathedral's trustees decided to restore the building included financial help from the government.

Source

• Stuff
• NZ Herald
• Image: Stuff

The Trust has released survey results showing more than half of Christchurch residents support restoration, 51 percent and 66 percent if privately-funded, which the Anglican Church estimates would cost $220 million.

But the Buildings Trust's Jim Anderton believes the church has factored in $115 million in inflation.

A member of the trust, the Reverend David Morrell, said the church should rethink its stance and engage with the wider community.

"If the church wishes to retain the respect - let alone the affection - of this city, it would be wise to reconsider its direction and engage in constructive dialogue with the town."

Survey findings:

• Based on no other information than the High Court ruling that a Cathedral must be built on the current site, 51 percent of those polled said a cathedral should be restored and 43 percent preferred demolition.
• Given the scenario of the costs of restoration or replacement being approximately the same and private donations rather than ratepayer donations meeting the funds needed after insurance cover, the majority preferring restoration increased to 66 percent versus 30 percent preferring demolition.
• Although the Anglican Church may officially own the Christ Church Cathedral, 77 percent of those questioned thought they should have a say about its future.
• 68 percent felt restoration would boost the morale of Christchurch residents.
• 86 percent of respondents said the Cathedral was a vital part of Christchurch's history and heritage, despite its presently damaged condition.
• 92 percent said Christ Church Cathedral had always been a vital part of Christchurch's history and heritage.

Some 1000 people were surveyed, and the poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Radio New Zealand
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: playbacktheatre.org

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican Church hierarchy.

Last week Sentamu visited the ruins of the cathedral , and said he advocated for demolition and a modern rebuild of the cathedral. Continue reading

One of the most contentious factors in the $153 million difference is whether base isolators - flexible bearings in the foundations to minimise damage during an earthquake - would be needed.

The proposal by the trust excludes them.

But Anglican church spokesperson Rev Jayson Rhodes said base isolation would be needed for the building to withstand future earthquakes.

Other ways of reducing the cost proposed by the The Great Christchurch Buildings Trust co-chair Jim Anderton are:

• Save $22 million the church has allowed for inflation by starting the job immediately.
• The trust would cover the $6.8 million it is expected to cost to stabilise the building.
• The trust was prepared to help the church raise funds to meet the shortfall after the insurance payout is accounted for.

Mr Anderton said there is enormous goodwill world-wide for the cathedral to be restored and funding, as well as savings through pro-bono work, would be easily accessed.

Rhodes says some of the cost-cutting measures presented by the group are non-negotiable.

"At this stage they've only provided us with preliminary figures. Our advice from our engineers and from our quantity surveyors is any project must include elements including contingency, including escalation and the engineers are saying base isolation is essential."

He says the church received the pricing plan on Tuesday morning and is reviewing the documents.

The church has presented three options for the cathedral: restoring the building, replacing it with a timber building in a similar style, or using a different and more modern design.

The costings have been published on the Cathedral Conversations website for each part of the process of restoration or rebuilding.

Source

• NewsTalkZB
• Radio New Zealand
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: NewsTalkZB

He says legal advice backed by two Queen's Counsel suggested that, under the act, church trustees were obligated to maintain and repair the building.

Anderton said court action could have been avoided if the trust was dealing with a "loving owner", but negotiations with the Cathedral Project Group had broken down.

The judgment was likely to take three to four weeks, Anderton said.

Cathedral Project Group spokesman Gavin Holley said the group was "extraordinarily disappointed" by the trust's action.

It represents individuals, businesses, professionals and local communities who seek to work with the owners of our pre-eminent buildings, and has charitable trust status.

Bishop Victoria Matthews says the Anglican Church has always believed ChristChurch Cathedral could be rebuilt, but the cost would be excessive.

The Cathedral Project Group has been considering an alternative engineers' report that says the ruins of the church are safe for workers to restore.

But the group stands by its decision that it is simply too dangerous, and too expensive, to repair the huge stone building.

The Great Christchurch Buildings Trust was created to help restore the significant buildings in the city.

Source

• The Press
• The Press
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: TV3

When he announced the report Jim Anderton said that Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, promised, at a meeting six weeks ago, that demolition work would be paused.

Prime Minister John Key told TV3's Firstline programme Tuesday that although the Government thought the cathedral was a "great building", its advice was that the building was unsafe and needed to be demolished.

He thought the focus should be on a replacement for the cathedral.

The Prime Minister said it was "always possible" the Government would consider getting involved if a report showed the building could be saved.

Speaking in TVNZ Breakfast Show Wednesday Key said it was his view that "it'd be nice in terms of rebuilding the cathedral, whether it's part of the existing facilities or a new building, that incorporates much of the old cathedral."

"I think it was a much loved building."

Key said he wants to see the Anglican icon back in its rightful place.

"That site was zoned for a cathedral. It's not called Cathedral Square for nothing."

The Press online on Wednesday reported that the Prime Minister had confirmed that the demolition of the cathedral had been halted while the church considered the report.

"I have had a discussion with [Brownlee] about it today," he said.

"My understanding is that there is a sort of temporary halt going on while the Anglican Church have an opportunity to talk to the interested parties."

He believed it was important to have a cathedral in the Square, but it was not up to him what form it would take.

"Ultimately, whether it's a new structure or a very substantial rebuild on the existing structure, well, that will be a matter for others to determine," he said.

The Anglican church's Cathedral Project Group has confirmed it had received the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) report which claims that the cathedral could be safely restored.

Acting Dean Lynda Patterson said: "We will review this brief report against the considerable work already undertaken in relation to safety, heritage values, financial implications and the need to reinstate the Christchurch Cathedral for the worship of God and Christian mission in the community."

Jim Anderton, who chairs the GCBT with another former MP, Philip Burdon, says any "reasonable person" who reads the report will see there is a way the Christchurch cathedral can be preserved.

Earlier this year, Holmes Consulting Group engineers presented three options to The Cathedral Project Group, including a maximum retention option that was costed out at over $100m, but it was rejected after a safe haven could not be assured.

The GCBT have further investigated this maximum retention option with structural engineers Adam Thornton, Robert Davey and Stefano Pampanin.

Their report argues that a metal safe haven could be erected within the cathedral so that workers could safely brace and strengthen the inside of the building.

The technique would be similar to that used in underground mining, where a shaft is constructed and strengthened as progress is made. Workers could shore up the building from the protection of the safe haven.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• TVNZ
• New Zealand Herald
• NZCity
• Radio New Zealand
• TV3
• The Press
• Image: MailOnline

"If we could put thousands of people on the street, that would focus the minds of the Government and get the attention of everybody." he says.

A separate protest organised by the Wizard of Christchurch took place on Sunday. It was attended by about 50 people.

At the protest the wizard described the Bishop of Christchurch as "seriously cracked" and said he has discovered the "Bishop's foundations" are built on sand

Source

• The Press
• TVNZ