Five years of deadlock has come to an end this afternoon with the announcement the Christ Church Cathedral can be rebuilt
The announcement was made by Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews and Minister Gerry Brownlee.
"All of the parties’ engineers agree that the reinstatement of the Cathedral would require a combination of repair, restoration and reconstruction," Mr Brownlee says.
"The issue then comes back to cost and that is something the Church Property Trust will need absolute certainty of before it can commit to any work going ahead."
The independently commissioned report says reconstruction could be completed by 2022 at a cost of $105 million.
Mr Brownlee says the decision by the Anglican Church to progress investigations into reinstating the Christ Church Cathedral will be greatly appreciated by the wider community.
"The Anglican Diocese of Christchurch and the CPT wish to move past the current deadlock to find a way forward to re-establish a Cathedral in Cathedral Square," says Bishop Matthews.
"It is the calling of the church to minister to people; to serve the lost, the last and the least. As the body of Christ we use buildings, but we don’t exist for the sake of bricks and mortar," she says.
"Therefore, comprehensive measures to ensure safety during deconstruction and reinstatement, and measures to achieve future safety including 100% of the New Building Standard, as well as sufficient financial resources are essential."
The decision comes three months after lawyer Miriam Dean QC was appointed by the Government to negotiate a deal between church leaders and heritage campaigners.
Church officials long planned to demolish the iconic building in favour for a modern replacement.
However in March, Great Christchurch Buildings Trust co-chair Jim Anderton said most people living in Christchurch wanted the building restored.
The announcement will come as a relief to the wider Christchurch public who have waited since the 2011 earthquakes for a decision to be made.
Further announcements are expected at the end of April 2016.
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