ChristChurch Cathedral to be deconstructed

Photo / File / David Hallett

An order preventing deconstruction of ChristChurch Cathedral has just been lifted by the High Court.

The Anglican Church and the Great Christchurch Building Trust led by Jim Anderton have been engaged in prolonged litigious battle over its future since the 2011 February earthquake severely damaged it.

The Church want it demolished to build a contemporary option, while the GCBT has fought to rebuild it as it was.

After taking it to the High Court, Justice Graham Chisholm ordered a stay of deconstruction until the Church committed to rebuilding a new Cathedral.

In a decision released this afternoon, Justice Chisholm lifted that stay.

He says the Church Property Trustees have now committed to the construction of a new cathedral, they gave fair consideration to issues, and there was no evidence that improper motives affected the decision.

The cathedral, designed by English Gothic designer George Gilbert Scott, was consecrated on November 1, 1881.

It withstood violent earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1922, 1901 and on September 4, 2010.