The Government said ‘No’
From the Bishop:
After news 12 days ago that the Government has said, "No" to our request for funding, on Monday the CCRL (Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd) Board came to the inevitable decision that construction towards the reinstatement of the Cathedral in the Square will be paused. Yesterday Mark Stewart (Chair, CCRL Board), Keith Paterson (Project Director), and I had the privilege of a meeting with the Mayor and the City Council to update them on the situation. We are united in wanting the reinstatement to be completed. Our challenge is how we secure funds to continue towards completion.
Following that meeting there was a media release, and many media interviews. For the Reinstatement Project the next three months or so will be spent demobilising the site in the Square, and there will be a refocus of the work of CCRL in consultation with CPT (Church Property Trust), the sole shareholder of CCRL. As Chair of CPT and Bishop of Christchurch, I am committed to finding a way forward for construction to be resumed and for worship of the living God in the Square to take place in continuing witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
That way is much harder than it was. Our faith is being stretched. But our worship and our witness continue, in the Transitional Cathedral and in all our churches across the Diocese.
From the Vicar
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