The Anglican church’s governing body, the Synod, voted in September to restore the derelict cathedral, conditional upon a multimillion-dollar funding package promised by the Government, the Christchurch City Council and restoration advocates.<\/p>\n
The council received 1063 submissions on the grant, with 54.5 per cent (579) unsupportive of the move and 45.2 per cent (481) in favour of the grant.
\nDalziel said the consultation was not a referendum on the restoration of the cathedral.<\/p>\n
“It was never appropriate that our consultation became a referendum on whether people wanted to see the cathedral reinstated or not,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The one thing that unified the city was the overwhelming majority that just wanted a decision that could be implemented.”<\/p>\n
Templeton said the $10m grant was unfair to Christchurch ratepayers.<\/p>\n