Christ Church Cathedral backers suggest lower seismic rating to cut rebuild costs

Those behind the Christ Church Cathedral rebuild say reducing seismic strengthening may help plug the project’s massive funding gap.

The landmark cathedral in Christchurch’s city centre was badly damaged in the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.

The cost of restoring the church has blown out to almost $250 million, as deconstruction uncovered just what was required, leaving a funding gap of $114 million.

In April, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd (CCRL) warned it needed at least $30 million urgently or the building would be mothballed by August.

The Anglican Diocese of Christchurch is holding a special meeting on Saturday to consider the future of the project. Its report said the funding gap could be “significantly reduced” if the project was reduced in scope.

It offered options, including downsizing the project by “placing the two ancillary buildings currently planned, namely the Visitor Centre and the Cathedral Centre, outside the project, to be funded and constructed at a future date”.

Savings could also be found by reducing the strength of the reinstated building from a seismic rating of 100 percent New Building Standard (NBS) to 67 percent NBS, the report said.

A building is considered earthquake-prone if it falls below 34 percent of the NBS.

The report said the diocese acknowledged CCRL was in need of “significant funding” to complete the rebuild, and the diocese as both beneficial owner and major user of the cathedral should take a lead in a new effort to secure funds.

It said the diocese had committed a further $20 million to the project, beyond insurance money it had already put in. In February, the call was put out for parishioners to donate.