Christ Church Cathedral legislation passes

The earthquake damaged Christ Church Cathedral in Cathedral Square. Photo by Geoff Sloan.

Urgent legislation to start the Christ Church Cathedral rebuild started has passed.

The bill will fast-track resource management consents and enable the creation of a reinstatement trust to provide governance and oversee fundraising.

The Government will put $10 million towards the cost, and provide a suspensory loan of $15m.

The work was signalled by the previous Government, and the legislation was introduced this month and enjoyed cross-party support.

The restoration of the earthquake-damaged cathedral is expected to take up to 10 years or more. It has been more than six years since the Gothic-style 136-year-old cathedral was badly damaged in the 6.3-magnitude February 22, 2011 earthquake that devastated the Garden City.

There was long-running debate on whether the cathedral should be restored to its former glory, partly reinstated, or demolished and replaced with a modern new building.

The cathedral is listed Category 1 with Heritage New Zealand, reflecting its regional, national and international significance.